Guilt and Shame
by Emme2589
Summary: While finding a way to get rid of their old nemesis, many secrets come to light that no one is exactly proud of. Sequel to Together. Rated T for various graphical depictions.
1. Prologue

Giga-Robo carried the box now sealed tight with packing tape. He couldn't believe he was leaving these two to certain death, but he didn't have much of a choice. Chibi and Telly were broken. He had tried to charge them, but despite getting lots of power, they wouldn't wake up. The address on the box was to New York City, Apartment complex 20500, Dr. Gary "Joy" Ebisu.

He was going to mail the box there because the nearest Citrusoft building in LA had been severely damaged from the explosion, and so no one was in office while repairs were being made, unlikely to be finished for a long time since the repairs on the hospital were far more important (there had been almost 300 casualties). Therefore, Giga had no choice but to ship them off. It was a hard choice, but all the toys agreed that it was for the best. Dr. Ebisu was so brilliant the repair wouldn't take long at all, and they would come back good as new.

Besides. Mom and Dad were no longer here to help.

Jenny smiled at the box as she lifted Giga up so he could slip it into the PO box, "Goodbye, Chibi. See you soon, ribbit."

* * *

The captain coughed, "I guess...this is the end for me..."

"Captain..." EVE took his frail hand, "We can save you! We can give you an artificial heart transplant! You don't have to die!"

"N-no..." Captain McCrea smiled, "It's fine...I've had a good run...I want to die on my own terms..."

"Ohhh..." WALL-E mumbled.

"Captain..." Rio stepped in, "What should we do?"

"I...I want-!" he had difficulty breathing for a second, "I want you guys to pick a new captain, together. Who would be the best leader? That's for you to decide..."

"Captain..." EVE almost felt herself cry, "I don't want you to die! Please don't die!"

"Eve..." McCrea took her hand in both of his, "I know you were my greatest comrade, but I'll rest easy. I'll be alright wherever I go. I just have one last request..."

"Anything!" EVE promised.

He gave a soft chuckle, "Call me by my first name."

She blinked, "Your first name? But that breaks..."

"I know, protocol, but I'm about to die. Please? Just once?"

"Ok-kay..." EVE forced a smile, "Goodbye, Benjamin..."

His smile was proud, "I had fun...while it lasted..." and with those final words, he fell limp and his eyes fluttered open.

EVE let her false demeanor drop and she began to sob. Her family around her could only watch in sorrow, or cry silently. EVE had been closer to the captain than the rest of them, so it made sense that she'd be the most broken by his loss. EVE lifted her head and rubbed her visor, carefully extending her fingers to close his eyes.

"Let's go!" EVE said through her robotic tears, "I want to bury him!"

* * *

All the sisters gathered around to celebrate the life of Captain Benjamin McCrea. EVE was almost in a trance the whole time. It almost felt like he wasn't dead at all, but that at any moment he would jump up and shout, "It's fine, guys! I'm okay!".

Needless to say, that never happened. He'd had heart problems for a few years, but no one expected it to kill him. He hadn't even reached a hundred years of age. After he was buried, EVE almost felt numb. It was unpleasant.

"What are we going to do?" Mary asked, "We have no captain now!"

EVE gathered herself up in her mind, turning towards everyone else, "Can I have your attention, please!?" she continued once they had settled down, "I...I don't know how a new captain would be chosen! Does anyone know!?"

Some people mumbled, but no one stepped up.

EVE sighed shakily, "Okay, we'll worry about that later...for now..." she paused, searching for the right words, "He was the only captain I knew. He helped us get back to Earth, and he was an honest and true friend."

"Evah?"

EVE smiled down at her husband, WALL-E, "You're gonna miss him too, huh Wall-E?"

His optics drooped, "Yeeeah..."

She took his hand gently, "I'm eternally grateful to him..."

"He was a great captain." Rio said, "And an even greater friend."

"I don't know what to do..." EVE suddenly tensed, "Everyone to the Axiom!"

"What!?"

"Axiom! Now!" she ushered every human and robot to the giant space ship.

She would have to talk with her team shortly.


	2. Chapter 1

It had been almost eight full years since they had last heard from Shannon Forthright. Chibi-Robo and Telly Vision were part of the family, and the neighborhood they had been constructing before was now a small town. Grass was growing everywhere, too.

"This is it." EVE told them, "This is what she was waiting for."

"What who was waiting for?" Rio asked, "You're not being very clear!"

"Wait, do you mean Forthright?" Aya asked.

"Who else could I be talking about?" EVE held her forehead with one hand, "We haven't seen her in years, and now we have no captain. I'm sure she was just waiting for the perfect moment."

"What are we supposed to do about that?" Rose said.

"Don't you know how a new captain is elected?" Telly asked her.

"No. We've never seen a captain take position."

"It was always him." EVE finished for her.

 _Do you think we should go after her?_ Chibi's thought-translator typed.

"I don't know, where is she?" Rose replied.

"That's what I can't figure out." EVE grimaced, "Ugh. Eight years of on-and-off research, and I _still_ can't find the location of her hidden computer."

Ruby had stayed quiet before, but she realized something just then, "Wait a minute! I know what to do!"

EVE perked up a bit, "Really?"

"Yeah! When I was first built, I caught a glimpses of something while I was first gaining awareness. I didn't realize before because it's such a fuzzy memory, but I saw a code on the side of one wall."

"What was the code?"

"Um...oh, grease, what was it?" she let her eyes wander as she thought, "It was an area code, I believe...nine one four! That's it!"

"Nine one four? Well, that's the area code in New York City." EVE said.

"Does that mean it's around here?" Leah was stroking the top of Chibi's head (something she really liked to do).

"But I've looked everywhere here!" EVE said, "Everywhere outside the encampment area is too dangerous to explore!"

"That area code covers much more than the encampment area." Rose pointed out, "Ruby, did you see anything else there?"

"Lemme think..." Ruby placed a finger to her chin, "There was another number, but it was so blurry, I couldn't make it out."

"Can I see?"

Ruby didn't like the memory readers, but this time it couldn't be helped, "Fine, but only to view the number! Those are painful memories."

"Fair enough." EVE took a memory reader from the computer and stuck it to Ruby's head. It flicked through old memories, starting with the most recent and getting older as more data was flicked through.

Ruby paused it, "There!"

"Oh wow, it is blurry..." EVE squinted at the image, "Oh, that's not a number it's...why oh en...kay ee are...Yonkers!"

WALL-E flinched incredulously, "Yyyonkeeers!?"

"That's where Hello Dolly takes place!" EVE laughed.

"You mean that stupid movie you and Wall-E watch way too much?" Ruby said dryly.

Wall-E growled angrily.

"Wall-E, it's okay." EVE did not want to get into this discussion again. Last time Ruby threatened to throw the movie away if Wall-E kept watching it and he nearly cried.

"Yonkers?" Aya said, "But that's _miles_ away! It's _far_ outside the encampment area!"

"Correct..." EVE replied.

"Are we going there?" Rio said.

"We might have to." EVE massaged her head where her temples would be, "It's so dangerous, but it might be our only chance."

 _Could we find Giga-Robo!?_ Chibi asked hopefully.

"Oh yeah." Leah looked up at her sister, "We can't find his old friend."

"I don't know! Okay!? I don't know!" EVE said frustratingly, "Allow me to de-stress!"

Her version of de-stressing was grabbing Wall-E's head and smooching him, a giant spark alighting between them. He fell over, sighing with love.

Aya giggled.

"Whew. I'm good now." EVE breathed, "Let's go."

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" John asked, "You got enough extra batteries?"

 _For the last time, we have enough batteries for an army of Chibi-Robos! We'll be fine!_

"He's just looking out for you." Mary said gently, "But is that really all you need?"

"Yes." EVE reassured, "We run on a self-regenerating battery, and Wall-E runs on solar power."

"Yeah, Ma'am, we'll be just fine!" Telly told them.

"I see. Well, stay safe!"

"We will." EVE noticed that Mary had gotten very round on her abdomen, but she didn't comment on it, "Let's go."

"How long will we be gone?" Leah asked.

"As long as it takes to find that computer." EVE replied flatly, "And if we can't find it in time, I'll use my own power to fuel Chibi and Telly."

"Eve!"

"We do what we have to." EVE told her sisters, "Goodbye, John and Mary. Tell the others we'll miss them."

"Bye, Eve!" Mary waved, "Bye, Wall-E! Bye, Chibi! Bye, Aya and Rio and Rose and Leah!"

"Take care!" John added.

 _Of course._ EVE thought, "Okay. Yonkers is this way. We should reach the city in record time if we hurry."


	3. Chapter 2

Giga-Robo let out a cry of pain as he held his side. He had no idea how he had been brought back or for what reason, but he definitely didn't want to live like this. redressing the wound, he shakily cleaned up the battery acid and wrapped it up tightly. He would have just drained every last drop of power from his very frail body, but he couldn't bear the thought of slipping into infinity. He was afraid of dying.

He hadn't given it any thought for many years. He would always die for a cause, but dying alone with no one to remember him was more than a little terrifying. And with no way to come back, too...

Finally, the gash in his side was patched and he lay back, trying to ignore the pain and the pounding in his head. Why was he alive right now? Last he remembered before he was thrust into this brown world with no life, he was with Jenny while she tried to find a place to stay. She ended up settling down at her grandparents' house, but he couldn't think of much after that. His memory of back then was still quite hazy.

How long had he been out here? Ten years? Twenty? He couldn't remember anymore. It was all the same to him.

It scared him.

* * *

EVE huddled under the old building while lightning streaked across the sky.

"What was that about getting there soon?"

"Shut up, Rio."

They hadn't been out for more than a few minutes when the sky was filled with clouds and thunder. It was so surprising that WALL-E nearly jumped out of his own metal frame, and EVE couldn't say she saw it coming either.

"Hey, Eve?"

"Hm? What's wrong, Aya?"

"Look!"

EVE looked up, weaving between her other sisters to get to where she was, "What's up?"

There was a robot in the shelter of another old building, a dirty rag wrapped around his body tightly. He had as much rust on him as Chibi and Telly, suggesting he was as old as them. He also resembled Chibi strikingly.

"Giga-Robo!" Telly cried.

He spun his head around, his eyes widening considerably. He made a low distorted beeping sound, _Telly? Is that you?_

"That's so strange..." EVE commented, "He's speaking a programming language, but I can't understand what he's saying..."

"That's because you speak in Binary." Telly explained, "Giga-Robo speaks in Hexadecimal. I can translate for you!"

 _Oh my goodness! Giga!_ Chibi's hologram said.

 _Chibi!_

Chibi forgot about the rain as he sprinted to his old friend's side. Giga swept him up and set him on his shoulder. Chibi hugged his neck fondly.

 _You're alive..._

 _Chibi...I'm so happy to see you..._

"Are you happy to see me, too!?" Telly asked.

 _Of course!_ Giga replied.

"Hold on a moment." Leah hovered to them, "How old is this wound?"

 _Oh, that?_ Giga replied, _It's really old, but it just opened up again today._

Telly translated the code to her with nervous eyes.

"Oh! You poor thing!" Leah gasped, "Eve! We have to take him back to the Axiom!"

"What!? But what about our mission!?"

"What about Giga-Robo!? He could be dying! That's a bad wound!"

EVE chuckled, "Actually, I planned for this." she opened her stasis chamber and retrieved a repair kit, "I packed this in case someone was injured."

"EVE!" Leah grabbed her sister and twirled around in the air, squealing, "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOOOU!"

"Ahahaha! Okay! Put me down!" EVE handed her the box, "Do what you do."

"Awesome!" Leah opened the box and retrieved some solidifier and bandages, "Hold still, Giga." she rolled him onto his side and peeled the rag from his body. She felt Giga stiffen, but she didn't waver as she drained all his battery acid and replaced it with energy-efficient energy fluid from the Axiom. She sprayed the solidifier on the outside of the wound and wrapped it snugly with the bandages, "Alright. That should hold for a few weeks at least. Are you feeling any better?"

Giga blinked, _Not really...it still hurts..._

"I'm sorry..."

 _Who are you guys, anyway?_

Chibi stepped up proudly, _Giga, this is Leah. My girlfriend._

 _What!?_

Telly giggled, "You should meet mine, too! She really shy, but she's a sweetheart!"

Giga shook his head, _Just what have you been up to, I wonder?_

"Um, Giga-Robo?" EVE crossed the distance between the two buildings, "My name is Eve, and over there are my sisters, Rio, Rose, Aya, and Ruby."

"Nice to meet you, Giga-Robo!" Aya followed EVE to where she was beside Giga.

"My name is spelled R-U-B-Y, got it?" Ruby also followed suit.

"Um...hi..." Was Rose's reply.

"And this is my husband, Wall-E."

"Wall-E!" he repeated, shaking Giga's hand.

 _What an interesting bunch._ Giga marveled.

"Yeah. They're great!" Telly told him.

"Hey." EVE stuck her hand outside, "The rain is going away."

Giga lay back, _I should stay here while you take care of that mission._

 _Really, Giga?_ Chibi asked, _Are you sure?_

 _I'd only weigh you down._ was Giga's reply, _I'm slow anyway, but now I'm injured. Please go without me._

"We'll come back!" Telly said quickly, "We'll take you to the repair ward and then you'll be good as new!"

 _Thank you._

 _I'll stay here with him!_ Chibi offered.

"Me too!" Telly added.

"Okay, you guys stay here, and uh...stay safe, okay?" EVE replied, "The rest of us will find Forthright's computer."

 _Good luck._ Giga beeped tiredly.

"He wishes you luck!" Telly said.

"Thanks!" Aya said.

"Be careful, Babe." Leah told Chibi.

 _We will._ was his reply, _See you later._


	4. Chapter 3

_How long have you known them?_ Giga asked.

"We've known them for eight years, I believe." Telly looked out among the old buildings.

 _That long?_

"Yeah. I mean, wow! We have a lot of catching up to do!"

 _That's true._ Chibi texted, _I haven't seen you in forever! I missed you a lot!_

 _I missed you too._ Giga beeped his equivalent of a laugh, _I'm not used to you speaking through that thing._

 _To be honest, neither am I. But it helps._

 _You know what would make more sense is if you were given a voice to speak a programming language._

 _What? I don't know if I could do that. I mean, what would my voice even sound like? Would it fit?_

 _You never know until you try._

"It's funny." Telly said, "Seeing you communicate this way."

 _It is for me, too._ Chibi admitted, _Though to be fair, I'm always naturally thinking like this. They've just never been translated like this._

 _And actually speaking would feel unnatural to you._ Giga finished for him.

"I see..." Telly hovered near where Chibi was, still on Giga's shoulder, "We can ask Leah about it once she comes back. I'm sure we could figure something out."

 _Maybe._ Chibi sat down, _But for now, let's talk. What have you been up to?_

* * *

EVE hovered around another corridor, training her laser on anything she thought might suddenly jump up and attack, but nothing ever did. Her sisters followed close behind, not as paranoid, but still cautious.

It took quite awhile, but by the time the sun set, they found a very old road sign, "Welcome to Yonkers".

"This is it?" Aya asked, "This is Yonkers?"

"Apparently." EVE sheathed her cannon. It wasn't quite as big as New York City, but it looked like it had seen its fair share of glory. Lots of buildings, many of which were at least two stories high. Just like almost all the rest of the world, however, it was all brown.

"Looks like humanity still has work to do." Rio remarked.

"This is why old humans are stupid." Ruby seethed, "How could they ruin the only planet that had life on it!? How stupid _were_ these morons!?"

"Ohhh..." WALL-E retreated to his box form.

"Yeah. I forgot what the world was like before we started fixing it." EVE caught sight of a large empty chip bag, _Super-size! Zero fat! Zero calories!_ First ingredient; sugar.

"This is bad..." Aya agreed.

"I don't like being here..." Leah held hands with Rose.

"Well, let's go." EVE began to sweep over buildings with her blue scanner, her sisters following behind. WALL-E stuck close to his wife the whole time, the dusty scenery making him uneasy. Was this really where the characters in his favorite movie danced away? But it was so lively!

Is this really the environment where he spent most of his seven-century life?

"Hm?" EVE noticed WALL-E tugging on her hand, "What's wrong, Wall-E?"

"Evah!" he pointed into the dust.

She squinted, "Hey guys! Come look at this!"

"Huh?" Rio said among her sisters, "A shed?"

"A metal shed. It stands out." EVE hovered to it, "Come here, Leah."

"A keypad? Well, then..." she stretched her arms out, fingers laced, "...let's see here..."

It only took a couple minutes to break the lock and let them in, "It's an elevator!"

"Maybe this is it!" EVE said.

"Wait!" Ruby went in first, "I'll go ahead, just to be sure it's safe."

"Alright."

Ruby came back not too much later, "It's really dark. We'll have to be careful."

"Okay." EVE opened up her laser cannon, cocking it absently as everyone crowded into the elevator, "Let's go."

"You say that a lot." Aya commented as the door closed and they descended.

"Shut up."

The door opened to a completely black room. EVE had thought about this, fortunately, "Wall-E?"

"Oh!" he opened his trash compactor and retrieved a lighter from the dozens he had in there.

"Is that what that rattling sound was?" Rio asked.

"You heard that, huh?" EVE took the lighter, "Wall-E rattles anyway."

"He does?"

"Of course he does. Haven't you heard him after one of our make out sessions?"

"Evah!"

"Oh yeah."

Aya giggled as EVE flicked the lighter on, casting a dim glow on the room, "Give everyone a lighter, okay Baby?"

"Grrr..." he was clearly annoyed, but he did as she asked without complaint. Soon, the area around them was flooded in a warm orange light.

The group slowly advanced, spreading apart to look around. It was a surprisingly small room with little to nothing in it. EVE hovered forward until her hand hit a wall, then she traced the surface until she had a basic map in her mind. There was only one other room in the whole building, but there were no doors in the room they were currently occupying. All she'd picked up was there was open air behind one wall.

"Ruby?"

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Come here."

"How come?"

"You have explosives, right?"

An evil grin came across Ruby's face, "Stand back!"

"Whoa!" EVE jumped to another wall, making sure everyone was out of the way.

"This wall here?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Watch this!" Ruby cocked her weapon, warping it into something that was definitely not in the Axiom's database. It was still about the same size, but it was complex in design, with lots of moving parts. Something large and red shot from the barrel on the front and sizzled on contact with the wall, lighting up the entire room. It didn't explode, but it melted everything until it was a smoking pile of glowing mush on the floor.

"What was that?" EVE asked quietly.

"I've been researching ancient war techniques! That was a modified grenade! Isn't it iawesome!?/i"

"Just don't point that thing at me!" Rio replied breathlessly.

"Same." EVE stepped forward with her lighter, "Let's just get in there." she picked up WALL-E with her free arm so he wouldn't have to roll over the smoking embers. The rest of her family was quick to follow.

The room was empty except for a work bench and a toolbox.

"This is it!" Ruby gasped, "I was built here!"

"Hey! Look at this wall!" EVE ran her hand over the white writing, "This is so detailed!"

"I'm definitely memorizing that!" Ruby swept over the wall with her red scanner.

"Hang on. Something's not right." EVE heard the click of Ruby's scanner stopping, "This place is so empty."

"What do you think that's all about?" Aya wondered aloud.

"I don't like this..." EVE shook her head, "It's not right..."

Suddenly, her eyes widened, "Oh no..."


	5. Chapter 4

"We have to get back to town!" EVE screamed as they streaked across the dead earth.

"What are you talking about!?" Aya exclaimed, "What's wrong!?"

"Yeah, what revelation did you come to!?" Rio added.

"I'll tell you later! Just hurry!" She clutched WALL-E fearfully as they searched the area where they last saw Chibi Telly and Giga.

"Let's go, Chibi!" Leah grabbed him while Rio carefully lifted Giga into her arms.

"What's wrong!?" Telly cried.

"We need to get back, and we need to hurry!" Rose held him in her hands so she could go faster.

"Why!?"

"No time to explain!" EVE waited until everyone was ready before booking it, "Everyone's in danger! We have to hurry! Go!"

 _Please please please please please..._

They got there just in time to see one of the buildings being set aflame. Something dropped in EVE's stomach as screaming could be heard from inside.

"Leah! Drench that house in water!"

"You got it!"

"Ruby! Find the attacker and get rid of them!"

"Okay!"

"Wall-E!" EVE set him down, "You go find survivors before they're killed! Be careful!"

WALL-E saluted before rushing through each building to look for people.

"Come on!" she gathered some allies and searched the borders of the town. Most buildings were intact, but they were quickly becoming engulfed in the attack.

EVE had set up posts outside the city to keep dangerous things out of the town. Since they weren't here, it left the town open to attacks. The journey to Yonkers was just a distraction.

"Heeey Eve!"

EVE felt rage boil, tingling in her right arm, "Forthright..."

"You know, if you stop killing me, I might actually have some fuuun!"

Shannon Forthright had a new body, just like the last one, and wore a black helmet over her brown synthetic hair. EVE felt her eyes narrow.

"You came back? You came back _NOW!?"_

"What? Problem?"

Giga-Robo watched with wide eyes as the white robot he just met today turned from friendly to cold and angry in a snap. EVE shot without warning and Forthright easily dodged, "You're not getting rid of me that easily!"

"TRY ME!" she screamed, continuously shooting again and again.

Forthright spun in the air, rolling on her back and springing up again. She grabbed a remote control from her pocket and aimed it at EVE before another shot was fired. EVE suddenly froze, her internal diagnostics flashing at her. She twisted, cringing.

"Not so fun now, is it?"

"Ow..." EVE tried to set herself down gently, but ended up falling to the ground, violently landing on her screen.

"Evah!" WALL-E was the first to rush to her side, _"Evah!"_

"Ack! Eve!" Leah lifted her gently.

 _What happened!?_ Giga asked worriedly.

"It was an electromagnetic pulse..." Leah tapped something into the right side of EVE's chest, "We should get her back to the Axiom."

"Hey! I'm not finished yet!" EVE tried to get up, but she locked up and went dormant.

"Wall-E!" Leah handed EVE's still form to him, "Get to the repair ward! And don't come back!"

He didn't need to be told twice.

 _What should we do!?_ Giga hadn't been this afraid in at least five hours.

 _Where are the others!?_ Chibi thought into his translator. He used his radar to grab Leah's attention, _How do we get rid of her!?_

"We can't for now! Um...um..." Leah anxiously tapped her fingers together, flinching when she heard a robotic screech.

"Ruby's down!"

"Not Ruby!" Leah grabbed both Giga and Chibi, "Retreat! Everyone back to the Axiom _now!"_

Humans and robots alike scrambled to find the entrances. Rio was able to hold them off for now, but it wouldn't last. They would have to hurry. WALL-E had just gotten to the ship when it came into view through the dust and new trees. Leah set the robots down inside the entrance so her arms were free to usher everyone inside before Forthright could catch up to them. She was worried that the humans wouldn't make it, but many of the stronger robots were carrying them, or otherwise helping them along in their own ways. Many were even riding on the monorails.

Finally, everyone was inside and every door and window was locked tight. They were exhausted.

"Okay..." Leah breathed, "Good thing we haven't neglected the ship this time..."

 _What do you mean?_ Giga asked.

"Forthright tried to kill us with a siege. We lost nearly a third of all passengers, including robots. Since then, the regenerative food buffet has been constantly running to avoid a disaster like that ever again." she explained, almost business-like, "We want to be independent from the ship, but it was a grave mistake to leave most systems off. That won't work on us again."

Giga was saddened, _I'm sorry..._

"Don't worry about it."

"Hey! Leah!" Rio approached them quickly, "Did you see where Eve went!?"

"She's with Wall-E in the repair ward."

"She is!? Dangit Eve! What've you done this time!?" she zoomed off in another direction.

"Leah?" Rose asked her timidly, "What are we going to do now?"

"They keep banging on the doors!" Telly trembled with terror, "Will they get inside!?"

"N-no, the Axiom's reinforced carbon-steel alloy will hold up." Leah reassured the shivering bot, "We need to contact the other starliners. Rose, take these two to the repair ward while I get help. Something needs to be done about the ones who are injured, so take good care of them!"

"Okay. Will you be alright?"

"Don't worry about me! Just hurry!" Leah bolted down the lido deck and ascended the elevator.

Rose gestured for the two old robots to follow her, "Come with me."


	6. Chapter 5

_Why? Why did I do that? Why did I leave so carelessly? Why does everything hurt so much!?_

 _Am I dying!? No! I don't want to die!_

"Eve?"

"Ah!" EVE's eyes snapped open, drowsily blinking in the harsh white light, "Ow..."

"Are you okay?" it was Rose, "Your circuits are fried."

"I...I have...a headache..." EVE complained.

"Evah..."

"Wall-E?" she reached out to him and relaxed as he grasped it, "Hmmm..."

"Here, I'll bump up your numbing solution." Rose touched a button on the machine and it whirred while it adjusted.

 _What's going on?_ Giga-Robo asked, _Can we help?_

"Just watch them and keep them here. If any of the machines flash red, call my name!" Rose went to check up on her other sisters.

 _Do you know what's happening?_ Giga asked Chibi.

 _It's hard to say. I've lived with them for all these years, and I still can't wrap my head around them._

 _I see..._ Giga became sad again as he watched the girls, _I watched humanity plunder before they left, and I've been all over this wasteland since..._

 _What!?_ Chibi stared at him, astounded, _You didn't go dormant in the attack!?_

 _Heheh...no, I didn't, though I came close. It's interesting how time flies when you're all alone._

 _Wait what happened!? You have to tell me!_

 _Tell you?_ Giga looked away briefly, _Well, it's quite a long story...and I still don't remember everything very clearly..._

 _I don't care! Tell me everything! Don't leave out a single detail!_

Giga-Robo smiled in his own way, his eyelids curving upwards, _Fine. I'll start from the beginning..._

* * *

"Ugh...where is it!?" Leah typed furiously, smoke rising from the keys, "I don't understand! Why can't I find it!?"

Finally, she slumped forward, smashing the keyboard with both fists, "Why isn't it working!?"

 _"Leah! Calm down!"_ the captain of another starliner was talking into her communicator, _"Did you remember to file an index?"_

She stopped to widen her eyes, "No."

 _"Well do that before you get frustrated!"_

Ugh. This was crazy. She'd been at this for so long that she was forgetting basic programming rules. If you don't file an index first, then the command has no reference, which means it gets confused and doesn't go through. Her head was just so jumbled that it was hard to concentrate on anything without it turning into a colored blur before her eyes.

 _"Probe Four?"_ the captain said, _"Do you need to take a break?"_

Leah massaged her visor, "Yes. Keep track of the code while I'm gone." she ended the link and passed the data encryption, starting towards the elevator.

Something just wasn't adding up.

She had calculated thousands of scenarios both in her head and on the computer console, which ran through the rest of the computer systems on the Axiom. Even though most everything checked out, one last little thing was bothering her, and she couldn't even tell what it was.

 _Ugh. I need a nap._

* * *

 _Giga drew shapes in the dirt with a stick, trying to distract from the numbing sensation in his limbs. It had been so long since he had interacted with anyone besides the toys that used to be there that he had all but forgotten what a human even looked like. Everything blurred together. Had it been days? Years? Centuries? The only time indicator he had were the scars and rust gathering on his metal body. It was becoming increasingly hard to keep his thoughts together. He was too consumed with his own mind to understand where his legs were taking him._

 _How long did it take you to gain awareness again?_ Chibi inquired sadly.

 _I don't know. What year is it now?_

 _It's 2816..._

 _Oh..._ Giga frowned, _That's longer than I thought..._

Chibi clanked his rusty knees together as the silence thickened, _So...only Jenny survived?_

 _Yeah. I remember...the...Mom and Dad's bodies..._ he shuttered, _Nevermind...forget I said anything..._

Chibi let his gaze wander for a second, _I'm so sorry you had to go through that..._

Giga was thinking about the past, now that he had been snapped back to the present. It shocked him. He vividly remembered Jenny holding him while she cried, the smoke licking the sky, Mom and Dad's corpses being pulled from the fire...

They were horribly mutilated...

 _I never want that to happen again...you have no idea how happy I am to see you alive and well..._

Chibi nudged himself against Giga's limp hand, _I won't leave you again. I promise._

 _Do you now?_ Giga gently nudged him back, _Because we all know you keep your promises..._

 _Wha-! Shut up! That was one time! Jenny took my spoon and I wanted it back!_

 _So you ratted out my favorite hiding spot..._

 _You never play with us anyway! It was totally fair!_

Giga laughed, _Ah...I missed this..._

 _Me too..._ Chibi said, _But hey. This time, I won't break any promises._

Giga leaned back to look at the ceiling, _You're my best friend, you know that?_

 _I know._ Chibi responded, _I've been your best friend since I found you in the basement. I didn't mean to download your memories, but I'm glad I did. It cost me a lot of time and 10,000 Moolah, but I never regret bringing you back._

 _Is that so?_ Giga scooted closer to the wall behind him, _I don't regret it either._

So, after all that time, he hadn't changed. He was still the kind and gentle robot he had been 800 years ago. The world had drastically changed around him and humanity slowly destroyed the planet and left it to wither away without them. He was covered in more scars than a training dummy, and more rust than WALL-E.

And yet...

 _I still have your tamagotchi..._

Chibi sat bolt-upright, _What!?_

Giga chuckled at his enthusiasm, _When the fire started and everyone who had survived was out, I couldn't help but grab it for you. Everything else was destroyed._

Chibi jumped up and down excitedly, _Can I have him!? Can I have him!? Can I have him!?_

 _Of course._ Giga sifted through the small bag he had carried with him, _Here._

Chibi's black button eyes sparkled when the blue device was handed to him. The screen was off, but he knew it could be easily turned on. He hugged it close to himself.

 _I couldn't leave it behind._ Giga explained, _I had to keep it so I could give it back when we reunited._

Chibi couldn't believe how amazing it was, _Thank you so much! You're the best, Giga-Robo!_

Giga smiled, _You're welcome._


	7. Chapter 6

Leah connected herself to the emergency charger, trying to ease her headache. All the noise in the Axiom was making her upset, but she couldn't leave the repair ward because of the strain on her system.

Eight years ago, nearly to the day, Leah tried to commit suicide. She had connected a rubber pump to her heart and had begun to chug water into her body. She had almost gotten to three pints of fluid before she felt herself being choked, spilling the water from her stasis chamber. In her mostly blurred vision, she could barely make out a pair of frantic blue eyes, screaming at her and trying to keep her from slipping away.

Since then, she still had permanent scarring in her inner chamber and around her casing. When she was hurt or under stress, it stung her scars and confused her motherboard, hence the headache. She would just have to deal with it until her cloudy mind could make sense again.

She felt a gentle tug on her hand, and she looked down into the eyes of Chibi-Robo.

 _Leah? Are you stressing again?_

"Oh, Chibi..." Leah scooped him up, "I _was_ in pain, but then _you_ came and messed it all up!"

 _Are we gonna start that again?_

"If you want to!" Leah bent to kiss him.

 _Mmm..._

"Sweet as ever..." she giggled, switching off her emergency charger, "Okay, I need a little help with something..."

 _What is it, Love?_

 _Was that a kiss?_

 _Not now, Giga!_

"Heheh...well, there's something that's been bothering me for a while, but I don't know why..."

 _What was that spark?_

 _It was a kiss, okay? Am I allowed to do that?"_

"Chibi!"

 _What?_

"Listen up! I was researching and filing code, and something keeps nagging at me!"

 _What's nagging at you?_

"That's what I can't figure out!" Leah groaned, sliding down onto her back.

 _Why don't you tell us the story from the beginning?_ Giga suggested, _In chronological order. It might help sort your thoughts out._

"That's a good idea." Leah looked at him, "You're wise, huh?"

 _Eh. You could call me that._

"Okay...well...where to start...? Okay, Shannon was born premature to Noella and Kirk White. Noella died of malnourishment - suspected eating disorder - when Shannon was two, and was taken in by Shelby soon after. She grew up with him and became very fond of him, so once he died...she...they..." she paused to think again, "...um...she promised to..."

She sat up, "Wait, why did she promise to keep humanity on the starliners? Why did she begin to kill us when we refused to follow her plan?"

 _Is that what you were confused about?_ Giga wondered.

"I...I don't know...my mind is still foggy..." Leah watched Chibi for a moment, "Chibi? What's that?"

 _It's my tamagotchi!_ Chibi exclaimed proudly, _Giga saved it for me! Wasn't that nice of him?_

"What's a, 'tomogatchi'?"

 _It's like a little creature you take care of! Actually, Giga left it in the basement for me to find, and I ended up giving it to Dad, but he rarely played with it. I did, and I grew attached to it._

"So it's a toy?"

 _I prefer the term, "virtual pet", thank you very much._

 _They went out of style centuries ago._ Giga added.

"Oo. Cool." Leah closed her eyes, the distraction clearing her aching head a bit, "Wait! I got it!"

 _What did you get?_ Chibi asked while getting a few Happy Points from his little device.

"The detail that's been bothering me!" Leah tapped a few times into the machine, "I need to talk to the others about this!" she finished typing, "You two wait here. I'll be right back!"

* * *

REBOOT.

"Ugh..." EVE brought her systems to life, slowly hovering into the air, "Ouch..."

"You're awake! Great!" Leah chimed, "Come on you guys, let's get up! I have to talk to you about something important!"

"Can it wait?" Rose asked.

"It could, but it shouldn't! Come on! You guys are going to like this! _Get up!"_

"I'll get up when my distress signal stops beeping in my ears!" Rio rolled over, "Until then, leave me alone!"

"Fine. I'll just tell you now." Leah rolled her eyes, "I know where to find Forthright's backed-up consciousness!"

"What!?" EVE sat up, "Tell me!"

"See? _Now_ you're interested!" Leah teased, "listen. I need you guys to get better soon so we can go after it. Giga and Chibi? I'll need your help. In the meantime, make sure Aya and Ruby know. Got it?"

"Yeah yeah, just get out already..." Rio went back to sleep.

 _What are we doing?_ Chibi asked.

"Just come with me." Leah said, picking him up, "Let's go."

* * *

 _Giga opened his eyes in the dark. His eyelids were heavy from rust and decay, the same thing that was weighing his limbs down. His head was fuzzy, blurred from inactivity. He couldn't remember anything at first, not even his own name._

 _"Well well...what do we have here?"_

Let me go, leave me alone, who are you, what do you want... _he was thinking profusely. He just wanted to go back to sleep._

 _"What kind of model are you?" came the strange voice, "What's your name?"_

 _He couldn't speak. Did he know how to speak?_

 _"Let's run a little experiment, shall we?"_

 _He still couldn't comprehend the sharp pain that tore through his side. The sound of metal on metal filled the room, the grinding almost unbearable. What happened? Why did it hurt so much?_

 _Was he going to die?_

* * *

"Giga?"

He was abruptly pulled from his memory, _Huh? Did you say something?_

"I was just asking if you knew these people?" Leah said, "You had a pained look on your face."

Giga shook his head, trying to forget what he was remembering, _I do know them..._

"Did they hurt you?"

 _I don't want to talk about it. Is that okay?_

Leah frowned concernedly, "Okay. I was just saying that these people were roboticists on Forthright's team. They've been working since long before the Axiom landed, and they're known for performing grotesque experiments on robots and humans alike. They were the ones who discovered how to keep themselves alive even after their organic bodies gave out." she clasped her hands together, fingers laced, "I was just wondering if you have information on them. It might be helpful."

Giga sat down, crossing his legs, _I...I don't remember much to be honest...it was dark and dreary, and I couldn't remember anything at first...the...the pain was so unbearable that I couldn't make sense of anything...I've never been so confused and scared in my life..._

"Oh my..."

 _I'm so sorry..._ Chibi said.

 _I don't know much more than that, so let it drop._

The silence was tense to say the least.

"I shouldn't have asked..." Leah breathed, "I didn't mean to bring up painful memories..."

 _It's not your fault, just let it drop._

Leah decided to change the subject, as the quiet was getting to her.

"Well, in any case, they're the ones who are in charge of the computers that hold the memories of not only the scientists, but of Forthright too. They're constantly updating wirelessly, and when one of them dies, the others begin work on a replacement body. Essentially, with the power of great technology, they have the ability to return after death."

 _So...where's that computer?_ Chibi asked.

"Well, you remember Shelby Forthright's ship? A7-B2-Cas? Well, there was a larger ship that was a close affiliate of them. A ship with such great technology that they found this ability to become immortal. A ship with incredible minds on its team and great subjects which they studied."

 _Which ship is that?_ Giga asked.

"The starliner to infinity and beyond itself..." Leah replied;

"The Index."


	8. Chapter 7

The ship was Grey and white, the letters on the side standing out starkly like a drop of blood in the snow. _The Index_. It was a different shape from the rest, but still had that distinct Buy n Large style to it. It had many scars across its surface, and space debris caked it from top to bottom. It also looked to be heavily guarded.

And where did they find it?

"Who knew it was here all along?" Ruby remarked.

"Yeah..." EVE touched the dirty sign, "Yonkers..."

"Alright, let's not waste any time!" Rio said, "Let's go in!"

They had left everyone on heavy guard at the Axiom, still locked inside. They weren't making the same mistake twice, everyone was definitely safe. Giga and Chibi were with them this time, so the 8 of them treaded carefully into the ship, all the EVEs with weapons drawn (except for Leah).

"It's creepy in here..." Aya said softly.

"No kidding..." EVE agreed, "It's like a horror movie set..."

WALL-E was shaking nervously, boxed up completely besides his head. His treads made a soft sound on the metal floor, and Giga's feet clunked loudly in the quiet corridor. He was doing his best to stay silent, though.

"It's oddly quiet..." Rose said.

"Hush. I think I heard something." EVE cocked her ion cannon before proceeding forward.

 _"How quaint..."_ a voice was saying, _"This one bleeds!"_

 _"This one has many boards! I am fascinated..."_

Rose spoke so soft the others had to strain to hear her, _"These guys are maniacs!"_

EVE protectively put her arm to the side, _"Stick close..."_

A robotic scream tore through the corridor. It sounded chillingly familiar.

"Stop!" EVE turned the corner and pointed her weapon at the scientists.

They had glowing white lights for eyes, **"KILL US."**

EVE was greatly taken aback, "What?"

"They want to die?" Leah asked, "But they're the ones who created the technology..."

 **"WE CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE. WE'VE WATCHED OUR LOVED ONES GROW OLD AND DIE. WE'VE SEEN THE RISE AND FALL AND REDEMPTION OF HUMANITY. WE'VE LIVED LONG AND WISH TO REST."** they explained, **"WE CAN ONLY FIND PURPOSE IN THESE HORRIBLE EXPERIMENTS. WE JUST WANT TO MOVE ON."**

"Eve, I think we should do it." Rose said, "They look miserable!"

"Well...um..." EVE's mind-gears were turning, "I was going to anyway, but if they want it, I guess it won't be so bad for them."

 **"YOU REALLY WILL?"** one roboticist smiled creepily, **"THANK YOU SO MUCH!"**

 **"TAKE THIS SHIP. WE LOST OUR SANITY CENTURIES AGO."** another said, **"WE CANNOT BEAR THIS AGONY ANY MORE."**

"Uh...okay...?" EVE sheathed her weapon, "Show us where the computer is."

 **"WE CANNOT."** another voice lamented, **"WE PERFORM MAINTENANCE ON IT BUT DO NOT KNOW ITS LOCATION."**

"That's okay!" Leah said, "I can figure that out! Where do you perform maintenance?"

 **"HERE."** one pointed to a nearby computer, **"THIS IS WHERE WE ARE ALL DAY."**

"Okay!" Leah flexed her fingers before beginning to type, "This should only take but a moment!"

"No one says that anymore..." Aya muttered.

"Oh wow...this thing is locked up pretty tight..." Leah commented, "Let's see here...EVE? Left or wrong?"

"0010001110110100101110." (There's no English translation for this).

"Thank you..." she finished her hacking with finesse, "Got it! Fourth floor."

 **"WE CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH."**

"Wait." EVE said, "Give me my friend back."

 **"WHAT? BUT WE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT OUR SICK KICKS."**

"Give me the robot, or I'll take him forcefully and leave you alive."

 **"ACK! MIKE, GIVE HER THE ROBOT!"**

 **"WILL DO!"** the one apparently called "Mike" unstrapped their unfortunate victim and handed him to EVE. It was a very trembly cleaning bot.

M-O.

EVE cradled him comfortingly, speaking in Binary, _How long have you been in here?_

M-O answered jitteringly and fearfully, _I don't know...a few months?_

EVE sighed, "Leah, patch up this wound. We're leaving now."

"Oh! You poor thing!" Leah set Chibi down so she could scoop him up, mopping up the yellow acid with a soft cloth.

They all kept going, Rose holding Chibi until Leah was done patching up M-O. She finished cleaning up the wound in his side and then wrapped it tightly. That should hold until they got to the repair ward. She then shifted M-O to one arm and took Chibi back.

 _You okay, M-O?_ Chibi asked.

 _Ugh...Not really..._ M-O beeped in reply, _It really hurts..._

 _I'm sorry, M-O._ EVE said sadly, _I should have noticed your absence._

 _It's not your fault, EVE._

"Yeah. We all should have been more attentive to that." Aya said.

"Hm. Maybe." EVE pressed her hand to the elevator, "Oh. It requires a password to get to the fourth floor."

"I'll handle this..." Leah typed well with just one hand, "Eve?"

"Um...it looks like 011001010111010001."

"Thank you very much! I need to brush up on my Binary..." Leah finished up and they all loaded onto the elevator, "Here we go!"

It ascended faster than they were expecting, but they reached the fourth floor in no time at all.

As they trekked down the hall, Giga beeped, _M-O? I'm sorry..._

"Huh?"

"He said he's sorry." Leah translated, "Sorry for what?"

 _I escaped from this place, so they had to get a new toy to play with. I'm so sorry._

"Giga! You can't blame yourself for that!" Rose proclaimed.

"Yeah! Seriously!" Leah added.

"Be quiet!" EVE hissed, "I get the feeling we're not the only ones here. Stay on high alert."

Everyone listened intently.

"Okay..." EVE cocked her weapon again, agitated, "Here goes nothing..."


	9. Chapter 8

EVE twisted the old-fashioned door knob and pushed the heavy door. It squeaked on old hinges.

"I had a feeling you'd catch on sooner or later..."

EVE froze, then she jumped into the room and pointed her right arm at the speaker. Forthright had followed them there, but she was dressed in a short skirt with stockings and a blouse instead of her battle armor. All of her clothing was black, the skirt pleated, and with red stripes on it.

"There you are, you waste of cosmic space!" Ruby snarled.

Forthright smirked, "Yes. I must admit that my roboticists are weaker than me." she looked at her nails as she spoke in a flippant manner, "They were once great in intellect, aiding me in both mind and body as they worked to make me into a god, but they have long since plummeted to insanity. I have tried to save them, but eh. They're beyond hope."

"Why haven't you let them go?" EVE asked, "Just so you can stay alive?"

"Why else? If the computer breaks and no one is here to fix it, I'll die. Plain and simple. This computer is my back-up in case my body breaks..." she crossed her legs, "Really, I'm surprised you didn't notice before."

"You look human to me..." Rio told her.

"Heh...well, looks can be deceiving, can they not?" Forthright glanced at them, "Whatever. You can't destroy these computers anyway. They're locked with such complexity that not even I can access the information. They're also plated with titanium and reinforced carbon carbon."

"You've really done your research." Leah marveled.

"Eh. What can I say? I'm a woman of many talents." Forthright stood up and crossed her arms, "Listen, you can kill my scientists - they're beyond saving anyway - but I forbid you to kill me. I need to live long enough to fulfill my purpose."

EVE sighed, her gun still trained on the false human before her, "Forthright...if your goal really is to exterminate humanity, what will that really accomplish?"

Forthright's cocky smirk fell, "What do you mean?"

"Sure, your great grandfather wanted everyone to stay space bound, but once they get here you kill them? The humans aren't going anywhere! We have defenses! But even so, you aren't trying to get us to space! You're just eradicating us!"

"I gave you a chance!" Forthright spat, "I'm being merciful! Killing you before the planet has a chance to!"

 **"You are not being merciful!"**

A few of them flinched at EVE's incredibly dark and violent tone of voice. Only WALL-E had the courage to speak right then.

"Evah?"

 **"If you were truly merciful, you would let us see what you're talking about! If you ask me, you're the only one who's impeding our progress! We've been doing perfectly fine here! Even the** ** _laziest_** **on the Axiom have something to contribute! We never even get sandstorms at camp anymore!"**

Forthright was dumbstruck.

 **"You're just an idiot! Too blind by your own intentions that you can't see what's truly right! If you want to kill us so bad then just play a video game!"**

EVE blacked out for a split-second from all that shouting. It took extra ram for a robot to speak English.

Forthright looked down so her eyes were obscured by her bangs, _"Shut up..."_

WALL-E backed up until he hit the wall behind him.

 _"Shut up_ _ **shut up**_ _SHUT UP_ _ **SHUT UP!**_ _"_ Forthright slammed her foot down and it echoed throughout the room, **_"I'M RIGHT AND YOU'RE WRONG! STOP TRYING TO TELL ME OTHERWISE!"_**

Then she charged.

"Everyone split!" EVE grabbed WALL-E, while Rio grabbed Giga and Rose took M-O from Leah. Ruby was the first to counter-attack.

"You think you're some hot stuff, huh!?" Ruby laughed with no humor behind it, "Well guess what!? You programmed me with no remorse! _And it's long past your expiration date!"_

 _What are we gonna do!?_ Chibi exclaimed.

"Evah!" M-O screeched.

"Ack!" EVE's anger had tired her out, so she let Rio cover for her while Ruby took the offensive, "Dangit, how are we going to do this!?"

* * *

 _Jenny coughed and gagged, sputtering through her sobs. The whole family was gathered around, watching as the parents tried to restrain Jenny and get her in the car._

 _"I'm going to take Jenny to the hospital!" Mom was shouting, "David! You stay here with the robots and fill them in on the situation! Try and keep them calm!"_

 _"What!?" Dad shouted, "Why do I have to stay!? I want to be with Jenny!"_

 _"I'll come back soon and take everyone, but we just don't have time right now! I'm not going to risk Jenny hurting herself again!" Mom pulled Jenny through the front door and it shut loudly behind them._

What's happening!? _Giga beeped, making sure to lift up Chibi from the floor._

 _"Uhhh...listen, something is very wrong with Jenny. We think she's mentally ill, that's why she's going to the hospital." Dad was explaining very anxiously, "Please don't tease her for it, and don't look down on her. This is a very serious situation, and we're doing our best to get it sorted out."_

 _Giga knew._

 _He remembered a few days ago, when he saw her roll up the legs of her pants. Her thighs were covered in dark maroon scars. He saw her take a small razor from under the sink and add to the collection, the drops of blood soaking into the bathroom tile._

 _It shocked him. Did all humans do this? He didn't think so. It seemed unhealthy and not right._

 _He should have stopped her._

 _He should have gotten help._

 _Instead, he did nothing._

 _He let her suffer because he didn't understand the situation._

 _He couldn't help but feel guilty the entire ride there. The doctors were nice. They patched her up with a smile and got someone to talk to her, someone professional. They were kind the whole time._

 _Then they found out her wounds were self-inflicted. Their kind smiles fell._

 _"You're telling me she cut herself?" the doctor rolled his eyes, "Typical attention-seekers."_

 _Giga-Robo felt something twist inside him. The rage boiled over, and he found himself shouting at him,_ You don't know what she's been through! She hid those scars so carefully we had no idea! She did not do this for attention! How dare you assume she would physically damage her body just for that! Jenny is not that kind of person you idiot!

 _Of course, the doctor couldn't understand a word he was beeping in Hexadecimals, but there was no doubt that he was angry at his passing remark. Chibi felt his eyes widen at the sight. Giga was normally so laid-back he didn't ever raise his voice, let alone scream at someone. But there he was, doing exactly that._

 _It wasn't her fault, not even in the slightest._

* * *

Giga was pulled from his memory by a blast sounding some feet away, "I got something!" Aya whooped.

"This isn't working!" EVE shouted, "We can't break this shell!"

"Does anything break titanium and reinforced carbon carbon!?" Rio was screaming.

"DIEDIEDIIIE!" Ruby screeched.

Giga wasn't going to sit back and do nothing. Never again.

He remembered something Dad had discovered after he got back into robotics and was hired by Citrusoft. He found that when salt and vinegar were mixed with a special acid and boiled, it turned into a destructive foam. When a drop of that was mixed with water, it would create a tiny explosion that melted through tough metals. He dropped further experimentation out of fear that people and robots would get hurt, but he shared this information with his family and the company.

The question was; Is this acid powerful enough to melt through titanium and reinforced carbon carbon? Giga didn't have the necessary materials with him, but he knew where they were found. One of the perks of being an old robot who had dared explore the barren country, he supposed.

Still, how was he going to tell the Probes about his rediscovery?


	10. Chapter 9

"We have to go, Eve!" Aya screamed, "We need a plan! This is just ridiculous!"

"I know! Just one second!" EVE responded, looking around everywhere, "Wall-E? Wall-E!"

EVE heard the rattling before she realized something was wrong. The heat in the room had risen slightly. Well, for her it was slightly higher, but her temperature diagnostic told her it was now 60 degrees Celsius.

That was far too hot. The EVEs were fine because they were newer models, designed to withstand the harsh weather patterns of Earth. Chibi and Telly were fine due to their size, even though they could feel the rising heat significantly, it wasn't enough to hurt them. Cold air sinks, after all.

But for Giga, M-O, and WALL-E...

"Retreat!" EVE told her sisters, "Grab the non-fliers and let's get out of here! _Hurry!"_

The whole group bolted from the ship, arriving in the cool air of the sunset. The doors firmly locked behind them, ensuring they couldn't get back inside.

"Wall-E!" EVE set him down, distressed. He was sweltering. His metal had soaked up all that heat, "Aren't you an Earth model? Shouldn't you be able to handle this?" she added, almost tearfully.

"Eve, the Wall-E's were only ever deployed in the Northern States." Leah told her, "They can only handle up to a hundred and ten degrees Fahrenheit."

EVE let her head fall into her arms, which rested on WALL-E's chest, "I know..."

"Ughhh..." WALL-E moaned.

"You poor thing..." Leah stroked M-O's cheek, "You were only built for the Axiom, huh?"

"Owww..." M-O replied softly.

"Wait a minute...Giga!" EVE took him from Rio and set him down next to WALL-E, "You've turned red!"

 _I am...not meant for this heat..._ was his begrudging reply.

"You guys need to get to the repair ward!" EVE realized, "Let's hurry!"

* * *

 _He could tell._

 _Though Jenny was back on her feet and smiling and drawing and socializing like she used to, there was still something wrong. She looked happy and alive, but then again, she always had before and she clearly wasn't okay. It made him uneasy. He really wanted to figure out what was so off about her, so he kept a close eye on her throughout the day._

 _When everyone had headed off to bed, Giga slowly slid off the couch and tiptoed to the foyer. He just caught Jenny disappearing into her room before he crept up the stairs. He saw her leave her room and head to the bathroom. He sprinted to her, just catching her lift the razor to her thigh._

Stop! _he hit her arm so the razor clattered to the floor, then he swiped it up and held it away from her._

 _"Ack! Giga-Robo!" Jenny tried to grab it, "I have to! Please give that to me!"_

No! I won't let you! You're destroying yourself!

 _"Give it!" she became more frantic, "Give it to me now!"_

I can't do that! _he knew she couldn't understand the language, but it was all he could use to speak with._

 _"Please..." she whimpered, tears streaming down her face as she shook violently, "I have to...I need it..."_

No you don't! I can't handle you hurting yourself! Please!

 _"I need it...I need it..." Jenny rolled into a ball on the floor, hugging her knees. Giga saw the fading scars all over her thighs, and it made him so sad. She was destroying herself._

Jenny... _Giga set the razor on the counter and laid next to her, cradling her head gently,_ Please stop this...you don't need that...

 _"Giga...I have to..."_

No you don't. _he held her closer, making sure his processor was loud enough for her to hear,_ Shhh...

 _She kept shaking violently and panting heavily, but then she slowly began to calm down. She listened, "I need...I need it..." she hiccuped, "...please...give...it...back..."_

Shhh... _the soft sound he made was soothing to her,_ Shhh...

 _"Hh...huh...?" Jenny's breathing slowed, "...Wh...why...?"_

Feeling better?

 _"I don't have the urge to cut anymore..." Jenny wrung her hands together, "Why?"_

Because you feel loved. _Giga replied,_ You started because it was the only thing you could live for, right? So now that you feel loved, you're happy without it.

 _"Heheh...I can't understand a word you're saying..." Jenny replied._

That's okay. Here. _Giga got up and went to Jenny's room, returning with a paper and some crayons. He wrote,_ wen did yoo start cuting?

 _"Oh...just a week ago...why?"_

 _He nodded,_ yoo didnt get adictd. thats good.

 _"So...why do I not want to cut anymore?"_

becuz yoo feel lovd now.

 _Jenny's eyelids pressed downward, "Oh...I..."_

jeny, i luv yoo.

 _She gasped, "You love me?"_

that serprises yoo? we al do. chibi, tely, mom an dad. we beleev that yoor bewtiful an speshal and amazing. i luv yoo becuz yoo ar a wonderful persen.

 _Jenny smiled through her tears, "Oh my...I was afraid you didn't think this way, I just..." she sniffled, wiping her eyes, "I just kept feeling like a burden...and..."_

promis never cut again?

 _Jenny watched as he drew a heart around the words, a smile lighting up her face, "Okay...okay..." she saw the razor on the counter as she stood, picking it up and putting it under the sink, "I swear that I will never hurt myself again."_

 _Giga let out his equivalent of a relieved sigh,_ Thank you... _he beeped, pulling her into a hug. The top of his head barely reached her waist._

 _Jenny giggled happily, returning the embrace, "Thank you so much, Giga..."_

No...thank _you_...


	11. Chapter 10

Giga groggily opened his eyes, wanting to stay in his happy memory with Jenny. He didn't want to wake up. He didn't want to live in the present.

"Giga-Robo?" Telly's voice rang clear, "Are you okay?"

 _Ugh...no..._ Giga rolled over, wincing when the bandages snagged on the slot at the repair ward, _I had a dream about Jenny..._

"A dream?" Telly said, "What happened?"

 _She...she was going to cut...but I stopped her, and...and she...she didn't do it anymore..._

"Jenny cut herself!?"

Everyone turned with Giga, _You didn't know?_

 _What!?_ Chibi's hologram cut into Giga's vision, _When did Jenny cut herself!?_

 _A few times before she went to the hospital._

 _You mean when she tried to kill herself?_

 _She tried to kill herself!?_

"Whoa! What's happening here!?" Telly exclaimed.

 _When did_ that _happen!?_ Giga asked.

 _When she went to the hospital for mental illness! I forgot you didn't know that!_

 _So that was her breaking point!?_

"Could you pipe down, please!?" Rio complained, "I'm trying to take care of a melting robot here!"

"Riiiooo..." M-O attempted to smile.

 _Sorry..._ Giga laid back down.

 _Yeah..._ Chibi added, _I guess we don't understand some things still..._

 _Maybe not..._ Giga beeped, _Heh. So Jenny tried to kill herself?_

 _She did, but how did she cut herself?_

 _She used the shaving razor and slashed it at an angle to make a cut and draw blood. It was only ever used like that for about a week._

 _Oh..._ Chibi scuffed his foot, _Now that you mention it, she did have scars on her legs when she wore her swimsuit or her red pajamas._

 _I remember those red pajamas._ Giga recalled fondly, _Hmmm...they were decorated with strawberries..._

 _Yeah..._ Chibi frowned, _I miss her so much..._

 _I know...me too..._

"What are you guys talking about?" EVE asked as she entered the room.

"They're the only ones talking." Ruby squeezed her head, "It's so annoying. I don't like programming languages."

 _Well excuuuse me, Princess!_ M-O slurred in Binary.

"Watch it, cleaning-bot! I've still got grenades!"

"Can we go five minutes without you two murmuring amongst each other!?" EVE said.

"No one says that anymore!" Aya wined.

"Aya!" Leah chimed in.

"Ugh..." EVE massaged her forehead, "...someone just kill me now...okay, I've been trying to find something to help us out breaking those computers. Anyone got any ideas?"

Giga remembered what he was going to say before, _EVE! I got it!_

"Huh?" EVE was skeptical, "You do?"

 _Yeah! Dad did research on what could melt metal!_

"Dad?"

 _Er, sorry...Jenny's dad, Mr. Sanderson. He was a roboticist, and he studied interactions between robots and how they would clash or unite. He found a kind of acid that can burn through tough metals! I think it could help us out!_

"Really!?" EVE hovered to him, "Where is it!?"

 _Well...see...it was only made in one small batch...Dad decided that it was too dangerous to continue experimentation...but he kept the recipe!_

EVE looked at him very seriously, "What is it?"

 _Uhhh..._ her stare was making him nervous, _See, I don't remember every ingredient, and...um...well..._

 _Don't tell me..._ Chibi rubbed his face, _It was destroyed in the explosion..._

 _Actually, it might still be in the building at Citrusoft._

"Huh? Which one?" EVE asked.

 _The one in Los Angeles._ Giga replied, _In California. Is that too far away?_

EVE turned to her sister, "Aya, where's Los Angeles?"

"Thirty four point oh five twenty two degrees North, one hundred eighteen point two four thirty seven degrees West." she replied flawlessly.

EVE's eyes widened incredulously, "What!? That's all the way across the country! There's no way we could make it that far! Humanity won't even get _close_ for thousands of years!"

Giga flinched, relaxing again.

"Ugh...is there another branch of Citrusoft that would also have the recipe? Perhaps one in New York?"

Giga thought about that, _I don't know...Chibi, do you know if Dad ever sent that to the branch in New York?_

 _He might have._ Chibi replied, _He was excited about his discovery, but he didn't want to play with it himself. I think he sent it there for further experimentation._

 _You think?_

 _I don't know! It was hundreds of years ago!_

"Okay okay, where's this building?" Rio said.

 _Let me think..._ Giga let the gears in his brain turn, _New York City, Apartment complex twenty five hundred. That's the address of the building where Dr. Gary "Joy" Ebisu lives, and I know he always wanted to be close to the company he founded after he retired, though he worked from home. So...it had to be the building on the corner of that street._

"Are you sure?" came Rose's voice.

 _Not entirely, but that's how I remember it._ Giga told them, _I can show you if you like. I was built in the factory close by._

 _Me too!_ Chibi added.

"I see..." EVE smiled, "Thank you, Giga. We should head off soon, New York City is right next to us."

* * *

"Not quite as far as Yonkers, huh?" Aya remarked.

"Yeah, well..." EVE sighed, "We should still be careful."

"Of course." Ruby replied, "But I brought a twenty two magnum, just in case."

Rio shook her head, "I don't know what that is, but for everyone's sake, please don't shoot that thing unless absolutely necessary."

"I'm not an idiot." Ruby rolled her eyes in an exaggerated manner.

"Yeah, sure you're not..." Rio mumbled to herself.

"Look!" Aya pointed ahead, "Water!"

"Water!?" everyone followed where she was pointing. EVE recognized the dip in the land from when she first landed on Earth and flew around, loving the sense of freedom. Aya was right, there was was a small stream of water at the bottom of the little valley.

"This was once a river, wasn't it?" Telly said.

"I guess." EVE replied, "That's so cool..." she flew down and ran her fingers through the water. It was cold.

"So, humanity is really helping the Earth heal..." Leah smiled.

"Yeah..." Rose added.

"Anyway, we should move on." EVE said, picking up WALL-E and taking him across the gap.

Giga and Chibi exchanged a glance. They had missed seeing running water in the environment. It was just a slow trickle, but it was a start. Maybe one day it could be a rushing river.

"Is this the building?" EVE set WALL-E down.

 _Yeah!_ Giga's feet hit the ground as Rio set him down, _This is it!_

The building on the corner was run down, just like the rest of the area, but it had a recognizable logo on it. The stylized shape of an orange with a bite out of one side and a small leaf on the other. Citrusoft.

"Okay." EVE said, "Cover for me. I'll go look for the recipe."


	12. Chapter 11

EVE scanned every old box in the first room quickly. She had an idea of what she was looking for, but she didn't actually know the recipe. There were papers in all the boxes, but her scanner wasn't capable of reading the words on them, so she would have to analyze them individually. She skimmed over most of them, seeing plenty of unimportance in them, but as she looked over the words, she began to slow down.

 _August 9th: All the Chibi and Giga models have suddenly lost the need to charge. No one has any explanation for it, but we've watched them. None of the Chibi-Robo's have needed a lick of power since._

What? EVE slowed down her reading. Infinite power? But that's impossible...

 _August 14th: Every Giga-Robo in storage is moving around as if they need no power. Their batteries show no acid, but they move with purpose. What could have possibly happened to cause this dramatic change?_

 _August 19th: Some of our employees are getting quite agitated. Sanderson in particular has been contacting us about this strange phenomenon. He tells us in particular that his power bills have significantly lowered, only having to pay for TV and light._

 _August 25th: Some bigger company has been trying to buy this technology from us._

 _August 30th: We've tried to tell them that we don't know why this is happening, but they don't believe us._

 _August 34th: They tried to take it by force._

 _August 37th: Our company is ruined._

The entries ended there. EVE sifted through more of the papers. Those entries were from the year 2006. She skipped to the last pages written, which were from 2014.

The year Chibi and Telly came from.

 _May 21st: Our building in LA was set aflame. Sanderson and his wife were killed in the attack. Their daughter was orphaned, too. They supposedly had a Chibi-Robo and Giga-Robo for themselves. The daughter contacted us the other day, she isn't even 17 yet._

 _June 1st:_ _ **Don't hurt me. I know nothing.**_

The entries ended there.

What did this mean? EVE was incredibly intrigued. She would have to ask Chibi and Giga about this.

* * *

"I found it!"

Everyone turned their heads as EVE flew from one of the upper-story windows, a sheet of paper clutched tightly in her hand.

Giga reached for it, _Let me see it!_ she handed it to him, _Hmmm...yes! This is it!_

 _Really?_ Chibi gestured for Leah to hold him closer to it, _It is! I remember that!_

"What's with those ingredients though?" EVE asked, "Salt, hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, vinegar? I've never heard of those things before."

"Those are common household items from back in our day." Telly explained, "Do people not use those things any more?"

"Well, what were they used for?" Leah asked.

"Vinegar and salt were used in cooking, and ammonia and hydrogen peroxide were cleaning products."

"Humans don't cook anymore." Aya told him, "And we have cleaning bots now like M-O."

 _Humans just live in such luxury, huh?_ Giga beeped flatly.

"Eh, they're doing better." EVE replied, "So we need those things...it says we need a special 'acid'. What acid?"

 _It was a special acid discovered by Citrusoft. I have no idea how it's made or what it's made of, but I do know it's completely man made._ Giga said, _It also has an extremely violent reaction to water._

"Where can we find it?" Rio asked, "In Los Angeles?"

 _I'm sure there is some left there, but there should be some in the factory here too._ Chibi stood up on Leah's palm so he could point to another nearby building, _In there. It doesn't take a lot, so don't worry if there's a limited supply._

"Okay. I'll be right back."

"Hold on, Eve." Rio said, "You always do things on your own. Why not let us help out?"

 ** _Don't hurt me. I know nothing._**

EVE shook her head to clear it, "No. I need you guys out here in case Forthright catches on to our plan."

Rio rose a digital eyebrow, "No. That's not it. There's another reason."

EVE frowned before pushing the thought from her head again, "Just...ugh, let me go, okay?"

"Evah?"

EVE couldn't stop a gasp from escaping her speakers, "Wall-E..."

WALL-E's optics curved down, "Wrrrooong?"

"Ugh...Wall-E..."

"No." he shook his head, "Teeell."

"See? He can tell something's wrong too!" Rio said.

WALL-E took EVE's hand, "Pleeease?"

"Wall-E...ugh..." EVE rubbed her forehead with her free hand, "Why am I so weak against you...?" she straightened out, "Listen, I was just going through some of the old documents in that Citrusoft building and...um...they disturbed me..."

 _What kinds of documents?_ Giga asked.

"They just..." EVE let her arm fall limp at her side, "They talked about that old family you guys like...it said something about you guys having...infinite power?"

 _Oh yeah. I remember that._ Chibi said, _Me and Giga-Robo used to have infinite power._

"What!? How!? That's impossible!"

 _I beg to differ._ Giga replied calmly, _In fact, I still had my infinite battery until it was sliced open by those maniacs._

 _And mine was broken when I flew from the peephole of the Sanderson's bedroom door into the wall._ Chibi added.

"B-but...how...?" EVE held her head, "It doesn't compute!"

 _That was my wish._ Giga explained, _My second wish to be exact._

"What? Your wish?"

* * *

 _Giga sat on the backyard porch. He was upset. The Sanderson's had no money to spare because of him. If he just died, if he went away and never came back, their money problem would be solved._

 _He knew the kitchen had knives in it. Maybe if he killed himself, he wouldn't be a burden. What would happen after he died? Could he go through with it?_

 _Was he brave enough?_

 _He was broken from his train of thought when a whistling sound came through the air. He looked up to see something flying at him. It was a UFO! An alien spaceship!_

They're going to get hurt! _Giga realized, jumping up and reaching out._

 _The ship came crashing down and the force jerked him backwards. Giga used all his strength to bring the ship safely to the ground. Soft angry mumbling came out of the ship, and four little aliens emerged. At first, they looked like big mutated spiders, but they quickly morphed into something that resembled himself, metallic with round black eyes._

 _"Oh! Hello!" one said, "You saved us! You saved us!"_

 _"Are you friend?" another one said, "Friend saved our lives!"_

 _"We are grateful to friend!" the third said, "Thank you! Thank you!"_

 _Giga was intrigued. He'd never seen anything like them before._

 _"Titan! Titan!" the first said._

 _"Io! Io!" the second said._

 _"Ganymede! Ganymede!" the third said._

 _"Little Bang! Little Bang!" the fourth said._

 _"Nice to meetcha! Nice to meetcha!" they all chimed._

 _Giga sat back, not knowing what to think of his new friends._

 _"As thanks to friend, we will grant two wishes!" the one called Titan said, "Little Bang! Retrieve glowing ball of light!"_

 _The littlest alien vanished into the space ship and came back out with a shining light. It was bright and luminous._

Wow... _Giga gingerly took the light and held it between his hands,_ It's beautiful...

 _"Make a wish! Make a wish!" the aliens told him._

 _He thought about it. He could use this wish to give himself a body that needs no energy. He wouldn't have to die, and the Sandersons wouldn't have to waste their money on him._

 _He could continue living without being a burden..._

 _But something stopped him..._

I wish...to give life to all the toys of the house... _he said to the light,_ I wish for all toys to have a soul!

 _The light shone brighter._

Did it work? _he thought. He looked around him. The toys were moving! They were gathering around him!_

 _"Hey! It's Giga-Robo!"_

 _"We're alive!"_

 _"He gave us life!"_

 _"Thank you! Thank you!"_

 _Giga felt so warm and cozy inside. He was glad he didn't make a selfish wish. He loved this feeling: The feeling of kindness._

 _"Tell us Friend second wish!" Titan said, "We cannot grant it yet, but we will soon as we get another ball of light!"_

 _Giga was happy. He didn't want anything else. As the toys circled around him, his feeling of content grew stronger. They loved him! They_ loved _him! He was no longer afraid to die._

 _Nevertheless, he told the aliens,_ I wish for infinite power...I wish for a body that needs no energy!

 _"Very well! We go back to home planet! We get second ball of light!" Titan ushered the other aliens back into the ship, "We promise! We come back! We grant second wish! Aliens never break promises!"_

 _Giga smiled as their ship whirred back to life and carried them into the sky. They seemed to make a remarkable recovery from their crash, and they were very pleasant aliens. How long would it take for them to get back? He didn't know._

 _But oddly enough, he didn't care._

 _"Giga-Robo!" one of the toys stepped forward, an action figure. He posed dramatically, "Space Hunter Drake Redcrest!" an explosion sounded behind him, "Ah! It feels great to have life!"_

 _Giga laughed. He couldn't remember the last time he was so happy._


	13. Chapter 12

Everyone stared wide-eyed as Giga told that story.

 _I remember that!_ Chibi exclaimed, _When I accidentally downloaded your memories!_

 _Yeah. That was quite a flash-back you gave me._ Giga chuckled weakly, _Yeah. You and Telly know the story, but I'm going to finish it for these guys. The aliens didn't come back-!_

"They didn't come back!?" Aya cried.

 _Let me finish._ Giga said flatly, _They didn't come back, but...to my surprise, I didn't care. In a few days, my battery had diminished, and I told Mom and Dad that I wanted to sleep in the basement until their financial problems were solved._

 _Giga..._ Chibi said.

 _It was all my fault..._ Giga hugged himself, _Because of me, the family barely had enough to feed themselves. They almost lost their house._ his warped beeping shook like he was going to cry, _...all because of me...it was all because of me..._

"No it wasn't!" Leah interjected.

 _What?_

"Your battery was clunky and inefficient due to old technology! You couldn't control that! It was beyond your power!"

 _L-Leah..._

"Why would you blame yourself for just being alive!? I won't allow it!" Leah shook his shoulders gently, "Wake up! You couldn't have changed what happened!"

Giga hung his head, ashamed.

 _I've tried to tell him that._ Chibi said, _He understood how much money it took to charge his battery. That's why he gave all our models infinite power once I called the aliens back._

 _I've always been afraid of death._ Giga continued, _I was so happy then, death didn't scare me, but..._ he had to stop to compose himself, _...b-but..._

"Giga-Robo! You listen to me right now!" Leah scolded, "You are one of the most selfless beings I've ever met in my life! If there was a way for you to stop sucking up all that power, you would have done it! Believe that at least! Please!" she turned from angry to sad, "Please! Stop carrying all this guilt for nothing!"

Giga squeezed his eyes shut, "Leah..."

"It's true." Rio added, "I carried the blame for Auto's death for a long time, but I soon realized that I would have never let him die if I could." she spoke of him very fondly, "Do you think I wanted my dear Autopilot to die?"

"Of course not. That wasn't your fault." EVE agreed, "It was Forthright's fault that Auto died. You had nothing to do with it."

"Yeah yeah..." Rio took a simulated breath of air, "...Auto..."

 _I...I didn't know Forthright killed someone you love..._ Chibi said.

"That's so sad..." Telly added.

"And that's why I have a personal vendetta against Forthright." Rio's eyes flashed red, "Because she killed my Autopilot!"

"Can I help smear her entrails all over the wall!?" Ruby asked excitedly.

"Of course you can, Sis!"

They high-fived, laughing like old friends.

EVE flattened her eyelids, "Right. So you see, Giga? We all agree, you're far too kind to cause that kind of hardship! It wasn't you, it was your battery."

WALL-E smiled warmly at him.

Giga watched them with a blank expression. Then he began to laugh. It felt so good that he laughed harder and harder, until he found himself unable to stop. He kept going until the others began to laugh right along with him. Finally, everyone was lying on the ground and Giga was able to speak;

 _I can't believe this. I just felt like if I had done something, things would have been different. I was passive when Jenny had fallen into self-harm, too. I never want to do that again._

 _If it was anyone's fault, it was Dad's!_ Chibi added, laying next to Leah, _He spent all his money on toys even though he didn't have a job! To be fair to him, though, it was due to depression guilt and denial, but still!_

 _Yeah...I suppose blaming myself was a little irrational._ Giga agreed, _Wait, weren't we going to get that acid from the factory?_

"Oh shoot!" EVE shot into the air, "Whatever, let's all go, okay!? We gotta hurry, though! We're losing daylight!"

"Evah?"

"Huh?" EVE became concerned, "What's wrong, Wall-E?"

"Evah! _Evah!"_

His distress signal was beeping. EVE turned around, feeling her stomach drop, "Sandstorm!"

"Everyone inside!" Rio shouted.

The whole group scrambled to get into the building next to them. EVE counted them, making sure they were all safe, "Rio, Aya, Leah, Rose, Chibi, Telly, Giga, Wall-E..." she was saying very fast, "Wait! Where's M-O!?"

"EVAH!"

EVE turned towards the doorway, "M-O!"

"EV-!" the sandstorm hit full-force, sweeping M-O away like he was a mere pebble.

"NO!" EVE turned back, "Everyone wait here! I'm going to get him!"

"Wait! Eve!" Leah tried to stop her, but she was already gone.

"She's going to get herself killed!" Ruby raged.

"Bah! I don't care what she said! I'm going too!" Rio went to the door.

"Wait! I'm going too!" Leah turned back, "Rose, stay here and watch the boys! Don't let them leave!"

"Please be careful!" Rose pleaded, "I don't want you to die!"

"Hey. These sandstorms aren't fatal." Leah pointed out, "We'll be alright if we hurry."

 _Hurry back!_ Chibi blew her a kiss.

"Aw! I will! I promise!" she left with her sisters, "Let's go!"

Meanwhile, EVE saw nothing but sand. Sand, sand, and more sand. Dust and dirt were there too, and she had no sense of direction in the vast sand, "M-OOO! Where are you, M-OOO!?"

She heard no reply.

This was bad. If she didn't find him soon, the storm would smash him into one of the old buildings and he would die! No, she wouldn't let that happen. The storm threatened to throw her around, but she knew it wasn't strong enough to do that. For M-O however, he was so light that this storm could easily throw him around. That thought scared her, "M-OOO! PLEASE ANSWER! M-OOO!"

 _"Evah!"_

She gasped, following the small voice, "M-O!?"

 _"Evah!_ Evah!"

"I'm coming!" sand was already piling along the sides of buildings, so she began brushing the dirt away, looking for his yellow eyes, "M-O! Where are you!?"

"Evah!"

It was getting louder, but it was still too quiet, "Keep shouting!"

"Evah! Evah Evah!"

She sifted through more sand piles, searching for the little robot, "I can't find you!"

"EVAH!"

It was suddenly louder, to her right. She brushed the sand away, revealing a shivering M-O with a blank screen. He opened his eyes, "Evah!"

"Found you!" she grabbed him and held him tightly, "Let's get out of here!"

"EVE!"

"What!?" EVE saw four of her sisters following her, "Why are you here!? I found him! Let's go!"

They luckily hadn't wandered too far, so they quickly hurried back to where the others were waiting. EVE shook the sand from her neck crevice. She hated stuff getting in there.

"There you go..." EVE gently set M-O on the ground, and he wobbled for a second, _Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?_

 _A little dizzy, but I'm alright._ M-O replied, _Ugh. I'm just glad I got buried and not broken._

"Um...Eve?" Leah said, "Where's your wedding ring?"

"Huh?" EVE looked down at her hand, feeling the heat drain from her head, "Oh no! I lost it in the storm, didn't I!?"

"Evah?" WALL-E said.

"I am so sorry, Wall-E!" she cried, "I know I promised I wouldn't lose it! How could I have been so careless!? I'm so sorry!"

"Evah!" he made a calming gesture with his hands, "Okay!"

" _No!_ It's _not_ okay! I promised I'd wear it forever and now it's gone!"

"Eve, I can tell it's uncomfortable trying to go dormant with that ring in the way." Ruby remarked.

"I don't care! WALL-E put it on and it was never supposed to come off!"

"It's fine, Eve." Rose told her, "We'll look for it after the storm."

"O-okay..." EVE rubbed her screen, despite her being incapable of shedding tears.

WALL-E held her left hand with his own, his ring not having been lost. He figured he could stay with her until her ring was found.


	14. Chapter 13

The storm had just barely calmed when EVE was already out, searching for the ring.

 _What does it look like, EVE?_ Giga asked.

"Oh you weren't there huh?" she didn't pause her search as she explained, "It's brown and yellow, decorated with paint that looks like rust. See? Wall-E's ring is blue and white."

It was indeed. It looked shiny and new, reminiscent of top-class BnL design.

 _I see._ Giga turned to Chibi, _I assume that was a happy day?_

 _Of course it was! They got married you piece of scrap!_ Chibi teased him, _M-O was the best man, and Leah and Rose were bridesmaids. I got to ride on Leah's shoulder!_

"And I got to be right next to Rose!" Telly replied, "The nine of us were the only ones there, in front of the small tree growing close to the Axiom. They didn't want to make a fuss."

 _They were getting married._ Giga replied, _Isn't that fuss-worthy?_

"I can't find it!" EVE buried her face in her hands, "I can't find it..."

"Evah..." WALL-E took her hands, "Okay..."

She yanked her arms away from him, "NO! NO IT'S NOT OKAY!"

Everyone quieted as EVE began to sob.

"Evah..." WALL-E sighed. He didn't know she would take it so personally. It wasn't her fault that it was lost. He then got an idea; he took his own ring off and handed it to her, "Evah, okay..."

She looked at the ring, but didn't want to take it from him. She was passive as he took her hand and set the ring in it, closing her fingers around the flat oval-ish band.

He shook his head, not wanting her to worry, "Okay..."

She smiled, "Oh. I think I get it." she took the ring and put it back on his left second finger, "You're sweet, but I want you to keep this. I always feel better knowing you're thinking of me."

"Okay!" he replied cheerfully.

EVE giggled at his manner, "Well, I suppose we should stop getting distracted and get that Citrusoft acid. You guys go on ahead, I want to keep searching."

"You sure, Eve?" Leah asked, "We can help look for you..."

"No thank you. I just want to spend some time with Wall-E. Is that okay?"

"Yeah!" WALL-E exclaimed.

The others laughed.

"Sure. We'll be back soon." Rio told her, "Come on, guys! Let's go!"

* * *

EVE sifted through more dirt and sand, not caring if it smeared her visor. She scanned over areas and then detected small bits of metal, but they all just ended up being old bits of rusty debris. She couldn't help feeling quite frustrated.

"Evah?" WALL-E sensed her distress.

"Ughhh..." she exhaled, "What should I do, Wall-E? I lost the symbol of love that you made for me..."

"Okay, Evah!" he insisted, "Fiiine!"

"Heh..." EVE wiped the grime off her screen, "I'm impressed with how articulate you've become. Have I ever told you that?"

He shrugged, "Eh."

"Hhhhh...for crying out loud...and to think I spoke so little at first. I'm the only one out of all my sisters that prefers to speak in Binary. I guess they rubbed off on me. I just never found the need for words when I was with you."

WALL-E turned her head to face him, "Wiiissshhh...speeeeak...liiike yooou..."

"No no no...you don't need to talk..." she gave him a small spark-kiss, dropping to a whisper, "Actions speak louder than words anyway..."

"Ahhh..." he sighed. He loves EVE's affection.

"I love you so much..." EVE turned away, "That's why I'm being so hard on myself. I shouldn't have lost my ring."

"Evah..." his optics straightened, "Eve!"

She looked at him wide-eyed. She'd only heard him call her by her real name one other time.

"Meee! Heeere!" he explained, "Riiing Ooobjeeect! Meee Reeeal!"

She laughed in delight at his explanation, "Aw! You're such a sweetheart..." she picked him up and held him close, "I know. As long as I have you, the ring doesn't matter...but, still...I want to find my ring. Will you help me look?"

"Yes!" he said immediately.

"Haha! I somehow knew you would!" she nuzzled him affectionately before setting him back down, "Well, we should get to it, then. The sun looks like it'll set soon."

They got back to their search, but it soon occurred to EVE that because the ring appeared brown and rusty it would blend in with the environment. She only hoped that the yellow stripes would stand out. WALL-E had slight color blindness, though. It wasn't severe, but all colors were duller in his vision than in her own. It was possible that they'd be searching forever.

"Evah!"

"Huh?" EVE turned to see WALL-E pointing up at an old thin flagpole that was about three feet tall. It still had tattered remains on it, and among them, her ring was tangled in the dirty cloth.

What? That was almost impossible to see! How did-!

She stopped. How did WALL-E always seem to spot things before she did? It didn't matter what it was, if they were looking for something, he always seemed to find it first! She hovered up to the pole and untangled the ring from the torn flag, sliding it back onto her finger. It felt much better there.

"Wall-E..."

He flinched, afraid she was mad at him.

"How come you always find things before I do?" she asked calmly, "I have better eyes and a scanner, yet you always get to them first."

"Uhhh..." WALL-E thought about that, "Mm?"

EVE shook her head, her processor trying to logic through that, "Why? I just don't get it..."

 _"Evah...?"_ his voice shook as he boxed up. EVE was terrifying when she was angry. Not even Ruby's rage could compare to hers.

She sighed, "I'm not mad at you, Wall-E. Stop being so scared of me."

He came back out, carefully.

"Come here, Babe." she swept him up in her arms, "We should go catch up with the others."


	15. Chapter 14

"BOOM, Baby!" Ruby laughed as smoke spiraled up from the broken door.

"Why do you always do that?" Rio asked, exasperated.

"Because it's _fun!"_ Ruby replied, "Have you seen old army tactics? They are AWESOME!"

"Calm down, Hitlar." Aya mumbled.

"Which door is it?" Leah asked.

 _I don't remember. I was only here once._ Giga replied, _And it was over eight hundred years ago._

 _It may have been in that one, over there._ Chibi told them, _I was built here ten years after Giga._

"So Giga is ten years older than you?" Rose inquired.

 _Eh, give or take._ Giga turned to him briefly, _Chibi? What's your year of manufacture?_

 _Two thousand six._ Chibi said.

 _Ah. Mine is nineteen ninety six._

 _You were built that long ago?_ M-O beeped in Binary, unable to actually speak, _No wonder your battery sucked._

Giga made a sound like a scoff, _Right. Because I'm ooold._

"Yeah, actually." Rio said, "You're like the oldest thing I know. Crazy how WALL-E was built a century after you were!"

 _What's his year of manufacture?_ Chibi asked.

"We don't actually know, but Operation: Cleanup started in twenty one oh five." Aya replied, "So it's probably close to that."

 _Wow._ Chibi said, _We're oldies._

"Nooo! I don't want to be ooold!" Telly cried.

Rose giggled, "Hey. With age comes wisdom."

"Oh. You're right."

"Where is this freaking acid?" Rio knocked down another door, "We've been searching for almost thirty minutes!"

"Why are you against cursing?" Ruby asked her, " _I'm_ not."

"Don't!" Aya exclaimed, "Eve already made you put twenty watts in the swear jar!"

"I don't fending care if you dump my entire battery into that thing! I'm gonna swear as much as I oiling want to!"

"Ruby!" Aya exaggerated her gasp of disbelief, "Language!"

 _Does that actually count as swearing?_ Giga said to Rio in a low voice.

"Pfff." she whispered back, "Of course not."

"What's this?" Leah came out of one of the rooms with a jar of green liquid in her hands, "Is this it?"

 _No._ Giga replied immediately, _The acid is almost clear, with a slightly thicker consistency than water._

"Then what is that?" Ruby pointed.

 _Darn if I know._ Giga chuckled, _That was Hendrix's office. Anything is possible there._

"Ew." Leah set the jar down in disgust.

"Have we even gotten to the actual factory yet?" Aya asked.

 _No, but looking around here is still a good idea._ Chibi answered, _Who knows how run-down that place is._

"Well, let's keep looking." Leah said, "Chibi? Do you wanna come with me or look around yourself?"

 _Let's split up. We might find something faster that way._

 _Good idea._ M-O said, _Can we go soon? I don't like how dirty it is in here!_

"Hey Chibi-Robo and I lived with three slobs for almost nine years." Telly said, "I think you can deal with how dirty this place is."

"Grrr..." M-O flipped open his brush, _Whatever! It's been awhile since I've done this anyway!_ and he began to clean.

"Wow." Telly remarked, "Not bad."

Chibi admired M-O's work for a moment before tapping Telly on the shoulder. Everyone else had begun to move on too.

 _Telly?_

"Oh! What? Hm?"

 _I've been meaning to ask you something._ Chibi waved forward, _Come on._

"O-okay." Telly followed him, "What is it?"

 _I know you were made before me, but just_ how _long before?_

"Oh...yeah..." Telly became downcast, "I was thinking about that too..."

Chibi waited intently.

"Um...two thousand five..."

 _Oh. I see._ one year before him, _Are you going to tell the others why that is?_

"I...I don't know..." Telly said softly, honestly, "I haven't even told Rose, and she knows my serial number!"

 _Whoa. You told her your serial number?_ Chibi was impressed, _You won't even tell_ me _that!_

"Yeah...well..." Telly said, "...I don't really know..."

 _It's nothing to be ashamed of._ Chibi pointed out.

"But it's always made me feel alien, and not in the good way." Telly averted his eyes, "Like an outsider. I know I was always welcomed, but..."

 _Right...I get it, but they should know. It's only fair. Keeping that inside isn't really good for you._

Telly looked up again, "You still consider me your best friend, right?"

 _Of course!_ Chibi said, _Why wouldn't I?_

Telly wouldn't look at him after that. His round mismatched eyes had lost their usual sparkle.

 _It's Giga-Robo, isn't it?_

"Um...kind of..." he admitted, "You just seem so much closer to him...you always have...I thought it was...because..."

 _What!? No! That's not why!_ Chibi wrapped an arm around him, _I just missed Giga and we've been catching up! That's all! You and I have been together for years! It has nothing to do with_ that!

"Chibi-Robo..."

 _Really._ Chibi said seriously, (well, as seriously as a hologram translator can show) _I mean it. I don't think any less of you because of_ that _, okay?_

Telly finally looked at him, "You...you really mean it?"

 _Of course! Don't ever feel left out, okay?_ Chibi said, _I can spend more time with you, if that would make you feel more included._

"Thank you, Chibi-Robo." Telly nudged closer, "You're the best."

 _I'm always here._ he replied, _Well, we should get back to the search, huh?_

"Hm? Oh! Right!" Telly flew around, "Let's do it together!"

Chibi shrugged, _No complaint here._

They hadn't been searching for thirty seconds when the group came back together.

"We've been all over the lock-leaking place." Ruby said, "There's nothing here."

"I guess we should move on then, huh?" Rio glared into the corner, "M-O! We're leaving!"

 _What? But I just got here!_

 _Wait!_ Giga stepped over to the spot M-O had been scrubbing, _Clean around here._

M-O didn't hesitate as he ran his brush over the floor Giga had shown him. A number swiftly came into view; 2947.

"Whoa." M-O said once he saw it, the protective casing around his brush clicking into place.

"Lemme see that..." Aya scanned it, her laser a deep golden color, "It's a code."

"Why was it scratched into the floor like that?" Rio asked.

"Maybe whoever did it was dying and wanted one last burst of INSANITY!" Ruby giggled evilly.

 _Or someone wanted to make sure his wife knew how to erase his browser history._ Giga said with flattened upper eyelids.

Ruby blinked, "Or that. You know, I kinda like _my_ description _more_ , but I guess we'll go with that."

"Hey guys." EVE and WALL-E had followed them in, EVE showing off her left hand, "We found it! Did you guys find the acid?"

"What's it look like, robo-sapien?" Ruby spat.

"Oo." Aya said, "That's actually kind of clever."

"Oh. Thanks."

"We were just looking at this number Giga found on the floor." Rio said, "Any ideas on what it means?"

"Hmmm..." EVE swept over it with her scanner, "I'll remember it in case it's important."

"So, shall we go further in?" Aya asked.

"If you didn't find anything it only makes sense." EVE replied.

"Okay!" Ruby cocked her massive destructive weapon before flying off, "LET'S GO DESTROY MORE STUUUFF!"


	16. Chapter 15

"EXPLOSIOOON!" Ruby blew another door out of its frame, "YEEAAAAHHH!"

"Does she do that every time?" EVE asked flatly.

"Unfortunately." was Rio's reply.

"Whoaaa..." Leah looked around in wonder, "Is this how things were mass-produced back in the day?"

 _Yeah! Pretty cool, right?_ Chibi crossed his arms, _That first machine melts the metal, and the next one shapes it. Once the metal cools, the circuits and such are placed in them and then they're sealed up._

"So what are these for?" Rio asked, "These look like they move."

 _Those are conveyer belts._ Giga said, _They move the robots from one machine to the next._

"Nice!" Rio pushed it with her fingers, "It's still smooth after all these years."

"Citrusoft was great at what they do!" Telly said with pride in his voice, "Maybe that's what caused the energy crisis..."

"You'll have to explain that to me." Rose said to him.

"Haha...yes, well, it really is an interesting story..."

EVE went off on her own, scanning each machine with genuine interest. It was very old technology, sure, but her systems told her that it wasn't more than 700 years old, even though she knew it was 800 years old.

"Telly?"

"Huh? What is it?"

"When were these machines built?"

"Oh, it took quite awhile, actually." Telly replied, "I don't know the exact time frame, but I do know that this factory was completed around nineteen ninety."

1990\. The current year was 2816, so... "These machines are eight hundred twenty six years old!? That's impossible! They're far too advanced for that!"

"Crazy, huh?" Telly hovered around the old machines fondly, "They were built by the modern genius, Dr. Gary 'Joy' Ebisu. He's the main robot designer and founder of Citrusoft."

"He _had_ to be to make these! This kind of machine was the norm when the Axiom launched!" Aya said.

 _I was the first sentient robot._ Giga chuckled, _What an honor._

"So, where's the acid?" EVE asked.

"I don't know. It should be around here somewhere." Telly said.

Chibi climbed up onto the conveyer belt, _This is so cool. How nostalgic._

 _I agree._ Giga jumped up so he was seated next to Chibi, _It's almost like a dream._

"How big is this factory!?" Rio's green scanner swept over the old room.

"Pretty big." Telly shrugged, "I never bothered to calculate its exact perimeter."

"I think it's close to three hundred by four hundred meters." EVE said to that, "So about one thousand four hundred meters in perimeter, or one hundred and twenty thousand square meters in area."

"Not bad, Eve." Leah turned one of the ancient computers on, "Hey, this one still works."

"Whoa!" Ruby ran her fingers over some of the control panels, "Normally I'd destroy all of this, but it's far too awesome to blow up!"

 _Yeah, don't do that._ Giga narrowed his eyes, _Or I'd have a personal grudge against you._

 _Same here._ Chibi gave the same icy stare.

"Relax you big babies." Ruby made a show of rolling her eyes, "Contrary to popular belief, I have self-control."

"Oh wow. That's amazing." EVE said sarcastically, "I had _no_ idea."

"Oh hardee har har." Ruby replied, salty.

"What a big happy family we got here..." Aya mumbled.

"Wait! I found something!" Rio came back with a big jar with what looked like clear jelly inside, "Is this the acid?"

Looks _like it..._ Giga looked around, _Anyone got any water?_

"There's an old water bottle here." Aya picked it up and showed it to them. It was white, with the Citrusoft logo on the side. The top of it (where you drink the water from) was also orange.

 _Cool._ Giga pointed, _Go put a drop of the acid on the ground and clear a wide circle around it, then put a drop of the water on it._

"Okay..." Rio screwed open the jar and put some of it on the ground, away from all the machinery. It smelled strongly of bleach. Aya then opened the bottle and carefully dripped a little into the blob of acid. It sizzled on contact, bursting into a bright red explosion before settling again, a thin pile of steaming mush.

Giga nodded, _That's the acid._

"Woo!" Aya yelped excitedly.

"How much of it do we need for the melting of strong metals?" Rio swirled the liquid in the jar.

 _Not much. That's plenty._ Chibi rose his arms until Leah picked him up, _We can leave now._

"Where are the other ingredients?" Leah asked as she carried him.

 _Not here._ said Chibi, _Dad had to get stuff from his house. The acid is all we'll find._

"So we're done?" EVE questioned.

 _Unless you want to mess around with the machines here, then yeah. We're done._

 _I notice you've been messing around with that computer, Leah._ Giga said to her.

"Yeah. I find old tech fascinating. Though, to be fair, I find all tech fascinating, including myself." Leah went back to typing (with one hand), "It's just cool how code works together to make a program."

"You mean like how cells work in a human body?" EVE said.

"Yeah, like that." Leah kept her eyes glued to the monitor, "But you can't build or alter a human without hurting them."

"Okay...I see your point..." EVE saw the others gather around, Rio still holding the jar of Citrusoft acid, "What are you doing anyway?"

"I'm just looking." Leah said, "I've already found logs from former employees. What was that one guy's name again? Joy Ebis?"

"Gary 'Joy' Ebisu." Telly replied, "Joy is just a nickname though. He was called that because of how joyful he was. He always had a smile on his face."

"Aw. He talked about his grandson!" Leah cooed, "Look at all his curly auburn hair!"

"Yeah. Ebisu loved his grandson." Telly hovered closer to the screen, "What's his name again?"

"Tony Ebisu."

"Ah, right."

Leah did some more digging, "I also like all of Ebisu's white hair. He looks like Albert Einstein."

"Rumor has it, those two met once." Telly waved his little arm, "But no one has any proof of that."

"Well, it says here that he was born in nineteen thirty one, so I guess it's not impossible."

"Any useful information?" EVE tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

"Calm down, I'm still looking." Leah felt her eyes twist in confusion, "Wait, where's Telly?"

Chibi saw Telly's pupils shrink fearfully.

"I see lots of robots here - including Chibi and Giga - but I don't see Telly-Vision."

Chibi gestured to them, his sad eyes on Telly.

"Uh...ummm..." Telly was at a loss for words, which was pretty rare since he was such a chatterbox.

"Sweetie?" Rose whispered to him, "What's wrong?"

"Uh, nothing. Absolutely nothing." Telly lied, "I'm fine, it's fine. I don't know why I'm not on the list."

Chibi frowned.

"Well, at any rate, most of these aren't even normal robots. They're just prototypes. What kind of company was this, really?"

EVE felt WALL-E tug her hand, "Evaaahhh..."

"Oh. I see." EVE cradled him in her arms, "You guys, Wall-E is tired. Should we leave now?"

"Oh, yeah..." Leah stretched her arms, "I didn't realize how late it was getting..."

"We can always come back later." Rio yawned, "For now, let's go. It's been a long day for all of us."

 _Right. Let's go._ Giga jumped off the conveyer belt and steered M-O towards the rest of the group, _Come on, I know you're tired too._

M-O began to slow, letting his head drop, _I don't want want to sleep in the dirt..._

 _I'll carry you._ Giga lifted him up, _There. We should leave now._


	17. Chapter 16

Once they were outside, they noticed it had gotten very dark. It seemed the sun had set about an hour ago. They retreated to the shelter of one of the broken buildings, using one of the lighters to guide their way. Once EVE had set WALL-E down, she gathered a pile of old paper weighed down with rocks. Aya surrounded the paper with more debris and lit it aflame. It wouldn't burn for long.

"This is how humans lit campfires back in the day." Aya told her, "Except they used wood. It burns much longer than old paper."

"Yeah. That would be helpful." EVE shook her head, "But we're not burning trees."

"Agreed."

WALL-E tucked himself into the corner and fell asleep. Ruby and Rio were next, followed by Rose and Leah. Aya went to sleep last.

EVE didn't want to sleep just yet. She noticed the three oldest robots near the broken wall, staring through it at the final rays of the setting sun.

"Aren't you guys going to sleep?" she asked.

 _We don't need sleep._ Giga said.

 _Don't tell Leah that!_ Chibi begged, _I saved her life because she didn't know I was always awake!_

 _Really? You'll have to tell me that story._

 _It's a crazy one, I'll tell you that much._ Chibi crossed his legs in front of him, _I'm afraid to sleep, because last time I did, I slept for seven hundred years._

 _You looked so peaceful, then._ Giga said to him, _I remember sending you off to Ebisu. No one else could have repaired you. I didn't realize I wouldn't see you again for centuries._

 _Yeah..._

M-O folded up, deciding to change the subject, _So, Chibi? You're a cleaning bot?_

 _That's right!_ Chibi replied, retrieving his Drake Redcrest toothbrush, _Wanna see?_

 _Oo! Yes please!_

Chibi slid to the ground and began to scrub, hearing soft guitar sounds in his head. Some stains on the floor came off without too much trouble. M-O added to the clean with his own scrub brush.

 _Satisfying, huh?_ M-O grinned.

 _No kidding._ Chibi smiled as M-O gave him Happy Points.

 _This is hard-wired into my program._ M-O cleared more of the space, next to the wall, _I was built to remove foreign contaminants._

 _But Earth isn't foreign._ Chibi pointed out.

M-O's grin widened, _Exactly. That's why I don't lose my mind over it. Wall-E is my best friend, after all. He doesn't like to be cleaned._

 _I see._ Chibi kept scrubbing, _I just clean to make people happy._

M-O shrugged his tiny shoulders, _Works for me._

 _I like seeing you two working together._ Giga commented.

 _You've always liked watching me work._ Chibi told him, _It's like you find me fascinating._

 _Is that illegal?_

 _No._

EVE smiled, _You guys are funny._

"I like how your voice sounds in Binary." Telly said.

 _Yeah. I missed that._ M-O agreed.

 _Is that so?_ EVE looked outside, seeing the dust swirl in the breeze, _I used to only speak this way. It's much easier than talking all the time._

"Ahhh..." M-O yawned, _I'm sleepy..._ he finished cleaning up a spot on the floor and went dormant, _Goodnight..._

 _Goodnight, M-O._ EVE gave him a gentle pat on the head.

"So, we'll see you in the morning?" Telly said.

"Yeah. Goodnight, Chibi, Giga, Telly." EVE hovered next to WALL-E and went dormant.

Telly exhaled, "Jeez..."

 _Telly..._ Chibi put his toothbrush away, _You should tell them soon._

"I can't! I'm too scared!"

 _Tell them what?_ Giga asked.

 _It's just something that he feels makes him an outsider._ Chibi explained, _It's not as bad as he's making it out to be._

"But Chibi-Rooobooooo!" Telly wined, "It's a big deal to me!"

 _All the more reason to let them know and get it off your chest._ Chibi spun him so he was making eye-contact, _Do you really think they'd push you away for that?_

Telly sighed, but he didn't speak.

 _I'm curious, now._ Giga remarked.

"Ohhh..." Telly looked at the ground, "I really should, but..."

 _Hey, why don't you just rest for now?_ Chibi suggested, _I'll be out and about if you need me, okay?_

"Okay. Thanks, Chibi-Robo."

 _Mmhmm._ he gave his friend a pat on the back before sliding back down onto the floor again and beginning to scrub away.

It was only a few hours before the sun was rising.

* * *

 _Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep..._

Everyone was suddenly aware of WALL-E's low-charge sound. They woke up groggily, especially WALL-E, who was now in low-power mode.

"Uuuugggghhhhhh..." he mumbled.

EVE rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, "Come here..." she picked him up and carried him outside.

Chibi stood still, seeing red in his vision. A sure sign that he was low on power too.

"Who has the power cells!?" Telly exclaimed, picking up on Chibi's lack of energy.

"I think I gave them to Ruby." EVE came back in, WALL-E now getting his much-needed sunlight, "Ruby!"

"Yeah yeah, they're right here." she gently tossed them onto the ground. Telly stood one up and Chibi plugged himself in on one side. He felt relief from the flow of power.

"Giga?" Leah shook herself awake, "Do you need to charge?"

Well, the answer was yes, he couldn't go more than a few days without a charge, _No, I'm fine._

"Giga, if you're worried about using too much power, that battery acid I gave you is extremely energy-efficient. We have enough power with us to charge twenty of you, so don't worry about that."

Giga was doubtful, _Are you sure?_

"Yes! Here, lemme charge your battery for you."

 _No!_ he squirmed away.

"Please? It's no big deal! Promise!"

 _I don't want to!_

 _Giga!_ Chibi scolded him, _Let her charge you! I didn't even scratch the surface of their power supply in my eight years of being with them!_

 _I can't!_

"Giga, listen to me." Leah forced him to look into her eyes, "If you don't charge, you're going to die. Do you want to die?"

 _N-no..._

"You aren't. A burden. On us." Leah sounded out, "It would hurt us more if you lost all your power."

Giga looked away, leaning against the wall behind him. He frowned, but he didn't push Leah away as she gently opened his battery case and removed the clunky battery. Giga still had some lingering awareness seconds after his battery was removed, so he was conscious of the power he was extracting from the power cells. It was a learned emotion he got from taking all that power from the family.

 _"David! Stop buying all those toys! You're going to break us!"_

 _"I'm sorry, Honey!"_

 _"I am sick of how impulsive you are! Grow up and get a job!"_

He saw the electricity bill that day.

1,000,000.

One million Moolah.

Leah put his battery back in, and he hated the relief it brought.

He squeezed his eyes shut, spinning around and hugging his knees to his chest. He began to sob.

"Giga?"

 _I almost killed them..._ his voice warbled violently, _I sucked them dry...they had nothing for so long...I-I should've went to sleep long before that..._

"Giga..." Leah lifted his chin, "Maybe it would have helped, but it was in the past. You can be stuck in it and worry about it, or you can learn from it and let it make you stronger and wiser. Don't spend so much time focusing on something that can't be changed." she let her hand drop, "Don't be stuck in the past. Live your life in the present."

EVE couldn't help but smile at that. Leah was probably the most level-headed of all of them. She could be calm if she wanted to, and she could speak in a way that was calming to others. She wasn't always like that, but she was the only one out of her sisters who could do that on a whim.

Giga shook his head, _I know. You're right. I just learned that...when I was around, the family suffered...but when I was gone..._

"I know, I know...I'm sorry..." Leah hovered down so she was at eye-level with him, "But you're okay. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

Giga smiled warmly at her, _Thank you..._

"Of course!" Leah giggled, "Come on. We should get going."

"Hang on!" EVE put a finger to the side of her head as WALL-E came rolling back in, "I'm getting a call from the Axiom..."

"Oh?"

 _H-hello?_ EVE said into her communicator, _Who is this?_

 _"Eve? Is that you?"_

EVE jumped, _Mary!? How did you get to the captain's cabin!?_

 _"John brought me here! I just need some help!"_

She didn't like the tone of her voice, _Mary? Are you okay!?_

 _"Not really..."_ her voice seemed to hitch, _"We need to know how to work the computer!_

 _I'll forward the link to Leah!_ EVE did just that, _She can use it better than me!_

From then on, she could only hear Leah's side of the conversation. She seemed to be in a panic, but her voice was level the whole time.

"Okay, that should do it." Leah finished, "Do you need us to get over there?"

 _"How close are you? I don't want to be a bother..."_

"You sound like you're dying! I can go at the speed of sound for two minutes!" Leah shook her head, "I'm coming right now!" she ended the comm link and bolted from the room, a loud shockwave sounding behind her.

"Whoa." WALL-E said.

"Well noted." EVE replied.


	18. Chapter 17

EVE set WALL-E's metal lunch box on the notch of his back, "Don't lose this, okay?"

"Okay!"

"You guys ready to head out?"

"Ready as I'll ever be..." Rio's screen glitched as she stretched, "Let's head out."

They had spent some time returning to town to recuperate and think of where the other ingredients might be. The full list was; Salt, vinegar, ammonia, Citrusoft's Acid, hydrogen peroxide, and of course, water. Water was easy enough, at least, but they still had four more things to get.

"What was this stuff used for, anyway?" Rio swirled the gelatinous liquid around in the jar.

 _It's just a component for certain kinds of machines._ Giga-Robo explained, _It fuels them and stops them from breaking, at least as far as I can tell._

"Huh."

"Cool." EVE saw WALL-E sway, "Whoa! You gonna be alright? Are you sure you should be carrying so much?"

"Fiiine!" WALL-E insisted.

"Okay, but if you get overwhelmed, be sure to tell me, okay?" she turned to the others, "Where can we find the rest of this stuff?"

 _We should raid some old apartments!_ Chibi said, _There should be some old household chemicals we can take!_

"Is that where we can find the things?" Aya asked.

 _I'd be surprised if we didn't._ Giga said.

They began to walk (or tread, or hover) while EVE did more calculations in her head, "Something woke me up last night."

"Evah?" WALL-E took her hand.

"It was weird." EVE picked up the pace, "I didn't even catch whatever it was. I just know it was small and quick. I almost feel like Forthright is spying on us."

"Does she know what we're up to?" Rio asked.

EVE shrugged, "Who knows? But we should speed up, just to be safe."

"Right." Ruby hovered faster, "I've got the explosives!"

"Just don't shoot those at me..." Rio said.

"Let's not lose our heads over this." EVE lay a gentle hand on Ruby's left arm, "Save those for when we'll need them."

"I will, don't get your nanobots in a twist."

 _What's that supposed to mean?_ Giga asked, perplexed.

 _Don't ask..._ Chibi massaged his forehead.

"It's ridiculous..." Telly added.

EVE shook her head, "Let's not get into that."

"AHHH!"

"Wall-E!?" EVE looked around frantically upon hearing the scream before a sickening _crash!_ was heard.

"LOOK OUT!" Ruby sent out an explosive and it blew up an oncoming attacker.

"Let's get out of here!" EVE searched everywhere, "Where's Wall-E!?"

"I got him!" Rio clutched the cubic bot tightly, "Let's go! _Now!"_

"Hurry!" EVE felt something hit her head and drag her down, and before she knew it, darkness was everywhere.

"NO! WALL-E, STAY WITH ME!"

"Wall-E!?" EVE saw her sister set him down and worry strangled her heart, "Wall-E...no..."

He was broken. His trash-compactor was squashed, and his hydraulics were dented and cracked.

"Are you okay?" EVE checked him over, "Can you speak?"

"E-Eeeevvvvv..." he slurred.

"Wall-E!" M-O hopped over to him.

"M-Ooooo..."

"How did _that_ happen!?" Leah pushed against the rock ceiling, "It's caved in!"

"Wait! Where are the power cells!?" Ruby searched the ground with her scanner.

 _It's too dark!_ Chibi cried out.

"We have to get Wall-E some replacement parts." EVE cringed when WALL-E's arm fell off, "I'm sorry, Sweetie..."

"Uuuugggghhhhh..." WALL-E moaned in pain.

"Shhh...shhh..." EVE held him gently, "...it's okay...I've got you..."

"What are we going to do now!?" Rio slammed her shoulder into the wall, "What's going to happen if any of our memory chips are crushed!?"

EVE had a flashback of WALL-E. His cold emotionless eyes and stiff movements.

"No..." she whimpered, "No nono..."

"Let us out!" Ruby shot into the corner, but the wall didn't give way, "Let us OUT!"

"Help..." Rose prayed, "Someone help, please..."

"Wall-E..." EVE brushed over his optics.

His heart broke at how quiet she was, "Eeeevvvvv..."

"Wall-E..." she whispered, "...don't...please...don't, die..."

"Eve!" Aya took her hand, "Don't do that. It's scary."

"Do what?"

"Look so hopeless!" she gently cradled WALL-E's head in her other hand, "I don't like it. You always have the situation under control."

"I don't know what to do, though! Anything I try could hurt Wall-E!"

"Eve, calm down." Rio told her, "We'll figure something out."

"Your well-being seems to rely on Wall-E." Leah added, "You can't be happy if he isn't."

"Is there a problem with that!?"

 _Hush, Eve._ Giga's voice was soft and quiet, _All she means to say is that you completely break down if there's even a chance that Wall-E is unhappy. You need to try and break away from him, just enough to be independent again._

"I can't..." EVE hung her head, wrapping her arms around her partner, "I can't..."

Chibi took a step back.

 _Eve..._ M-O frowned.

"I just can't do that! My entire being revolves around him!"

"That sounds creepy!" Ruby said, receiving a swift smack from Rio, "Ow! What!? Does that _not_ sound creepy!?"

"Eeeevvvvvv..." WALL-E lifted his one good hand so it rested on her arm. He tried to smile, but it was clearly pained, "Ssssstrrrroooonnnnng..."

EVE hovered backwards just a tad.

"He's right, Eve." Rio said in what she hoped was a comforting voice, "I don't want you to destroy yourself over this. It's not healthy. You could learn to live without him."

EVE closed her eyes, resting her head very softly on WALL-E's.

"Okay..." she finally said, "I know how to get out of here."

"Really? Oh boy! She's back!" Aya laughed.

"Rio, Rose, Ruby, Leah, and Aya. You guys hold the ceiling so it doesn't collapse on us. The rest of you stand around WALL-E and make yourselves as small of a target as possible! I'm going to blast an opening for us!"

"Wait! How will that work!?" Rio said in a panicked voice.

"You guys hold the ceiling, I'll blast away, you move the pieces, and the rest of us will get out. Then you can drop the rock debris and get out yourselves." EVE explained, unsheathing her ion cannon, "Ready?"

"Okay, here goes..." Leah said as the EVEs all went to hold the ceiling.

EVE cocked the gun and shot the far wall. The ceiling immediately cracked and split, making it fall down all at once. EVE instinctively went to protect the group while her sisters held the rocks away from them.

It wasn't too hard to get everyone out after that.

"Okay. I'm going to go back to the Axiom and get replacement parts for Wall-E. You guys stay here! I'll be right back!" then she bolted off.

EVE hurried to the main computer first, ordering parts to be made. She remembered everything that was broken from her check; one arm, one eye, one cracked display, and an entire damaged body. The parts glistened on the hologram screen for her, rotating to show all angles.

The information was processed and shipped to the factory, where the parts were built. EVE wasted no time collecting them and flying off. She made one stop at the truck, and then she hurried to where her family was still waiting.

"Okay! I'm back!" EVE set her findings on the ground, "Hold still, Wall-E."

She used WALL-E's metal crank to straighten out his crumpled body, then she tore the broken compactors out and slid the new ones in, being careful to get everything into place. The hydraulics were gently replaced, as was WALL-E's eye and arm. One of his wheels was nicked, but not bad enough to be replaced, and a circuit board had been damaged, but EVE didn't want to replace that, instead connecting a booster to his processor so it could heal on its own.

It was a little odd from WALL-E's perspective. EVE was concentrated the whole time, never once looking at him fondly or lovingly. It was always cold calculation. Once she was finished, she surveyed her handiwork.

"Evah?"

She looked him over again, then a third time, before she finally smiled, "Wall-E..." she hugged him happily.

"Uh," Rio interjected, "I hate to break up the party, but we should really get going. Whatever attacked us can't be too far behind."

"Oh shoot! You're right!" EVE swept up WALL-E in her arms, "Follow me, guys!"


	19. Chapter 18

Another rainstorm was raging outside as the group huddled under the frame of an old building. EVE was lost in her own thoughts as she watched the rain hit the ground and listened to the soft sounds it made. She was grateful that she didn't lose her ring again. She was currently playing with it absentmindedly with her right hand, sliding it off and on again.

"Eve?" Rio asked her, "You're okay, right?"

She sighed, "I don't know...I just...y-you guys are right...I'm not independant anymore..."

"Yes you are..." Rio argued, "Did you see the way you handled that situation? That was awesome! You didn't even so much as bat an eye while you were fixing him!"

"That was just a shell..." EVE admitted, "I was really terrified..."

"Of course you were! He could have died!" Rio watched the rain with her, "Listen, you may think you aren't rational if Wall-E isn't one hundred percent, but that simply isn't true."

"Yes it is!" EVE hit the wall beside her, her voice cracking, "I'm pathetic..."

"Ugh...Eve..." Rio turned back to her other sisters for help.

"Hey, Eve." Leah stepped up, "Sure you were afraid, but I think it was because you were afraid of never seeing him again. You've seen him like that before, and I think that's one of your greatest fears." she explained, "Am I right?"

EVE glanced away. She'd hit the nail right on the head.

"Look...we all have fears. I'm afraid of falling back into depression, Ruby's afraid of being powerless, Rose is afraid of being deliberately silenced..." she let her eyes curve into a frown, "...Giga-Robo is afraid of being a burden, Chibi is afraid of being useless, and Rio is afraid of being a failure..."

EVE expected some snide remark from Rio, but she just frowned and gave a slight nod.

"See?" Leah took EVE's hand, "There is no weakness in fear. There is only weakness in running away from it, and you faced it head-on. You smacked that fear in the face and regained control. That right there? That takes strength! That takes courage!"

EVE didn't respond.

"Don't you get it?" Leah continued, "Don't get hung up on what crippled you, because you got back up and showed that fear who's boss. If that isn't an amazing recovery, I don't know what is."

EVE smiled, "Yeah, I-I guess..."

"There ya go." Leah spun her sister to face her, "You don't rely on Wall-E for your mental well-being. You were afraid of losing him. That's called love. I think what happened is the emotional reaction was so strong that it surprised you. Does that make sense?"

"MmHmm..." EVE inhaled, glancing back out at the downfall, "Thanks, Leah. You're the best."

"Of course!" Leah gave her a pat on the back, "Well, it looks like the rain is letting up, so we should pack up and head out." she retreated back into the building, "M-O! Wake up!"

"Uuuuugggghhh..." M-O popped out of dormancy, opening his little rectangular eyes, _Five more minutes?"_

"Sorry. We need to get moving. It's possible that we'll be attacked again."

M-O squished his head down on his body, _That's nice..._

"Come on, Chibi." Leah picked him up, "Giga, Telly, let's go."

The group emerged into the light sprinkle that was still going on. EVE turned around to address the others, "Okay, Let's split up so we can find it easier. We'll spread out and look in all the abandoned apartments for the things on this list. Meet back here in fifteen minutes."

* * *

"Did you guys find anything?"

"I found some ammonia." Rio placed the giant jug on the ground, "There isn't much left, though."

Giga shook his head, _That isn't enough. We need more._

"Right..." EVE said, "Anyone else?"

Didn't seem like it.

"Okay..."

It had been a few hours, and all they had managed to get together was some ammonia, but not enough apparently. The sun was already lowering in the sky.

"We'll try again tomorrow..." EVE replied, exasperated, "We'll expand our search then."

* * *

Chibi watched the circle in pleasant conversation. Aya was teasing Rio (typical) while Rose whispered things to Leah, who giggled in response. It was nice seeing everyone interact as a family.

"Telly? Are you okay?" Rose asked.

Chibi hadn't noticed how jittery he was, but he was shaking fearfully, sweat marks flying off his head.

 _You gonna tell them?_ Chibi asked.

 _"I don't know..."_ Telly replied.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Rose asked.

 _"I...I don't know..."_

 _It's okay._ Chibi told him, _It's nothing to be ashamed of._

Telly mumbled something incoherent before straightening out, "Hey guys?"

"Hm?" Rio said.

"What is it?" Aya asked.

"You look like you wanna say something." EVE said.

"Yeah...I just don't want it to be a secret anymore..." Telly sharply inhaled, "Let me tell you a story, okay?" he was very nervous, but he tried to be brave, "I..."

 _"I wasn't created by Citrusoft..."_

Rose was the first to speak, "You weren't?"

"I thought you were created to accompany Chibi!" EVE remarked.

Telly's eyes betrayed his shame, "That's what I always let you believe, but it isn't true..." he nudged into Chibi, seeming to ask for comfort, "I was created by an indie robotics company called _Microbotics LLC_. A teenage boy named Steven Popper created Telly Vision as a kind of accompaniment of sorts. He was from England, too...and...um...once Popper got popularity within his small company, he pitched me as a project to work on, but they didn't know how I could be used practically, so I was put on the shelf..." he paused to look at the others, and was encouraged to continue by their lack of a negative reaction;

"So...when Microbotics became affiliated with Citrusoft, they were trying to perfect their design for Chibi-Robo. See, the problem was Chibi-Robo was too unconcerned. He had no fear, so he was always putting himself in horrible danger. They figured out that Popper's Telly Vision design was paranoid, afraid of danger. So they realized that the best solution for both companies was to ship us as a pair. It just made sense..."

He had to stop. He began to cry those tiny waterfalls, _"I was never part of the company...I was always an outsider...I see Chibi and Giga...they have the same creator...I just...I..."_

"Telly..." Rose took him in her hands and nuzzled him gently, "Don't cry..."

"What's wrong with being made by a different person?" Rio said to him, "That's like being ashamed for being an apple and not a peach!"

"I wasn't created by Buy n Large!" Ruby interjected, "I was a personal project by Shannon Forthright and you don't see me being ashamed of having a bolt creator!"

 _Yeah. Popper wasn't evil._ Chibi pointed out, _He was just a guy trying to make an honest living._

 _"I know..."_ Telly nuzzled himself into Rose's face, _"Thank you all for being so supportive..."_

"Hey..." Leah said gently, "What if a child is abandoned by their parents, and taking in by a different pair of people. They give their new child a home, a bed to sleep in, food to eat, and they always remember to tell him that he is loved. But, because he's adopted, he doesn't feel he's a part of the family." she directed her question to Telly, "Do you think the child is a real part of the family?"

"Of course..."

"Then why don't you belong just because you were created by a basement teenager and not a ground-breaking genius?"

Telly wobbled just a little, "Hmmm..."

 _You see?_ Chibi said to him, _I've said it before and I'll say it again; You are my best friend and nothing will ever change that. Giga may be my brother, but he didn't keep me out of danger that I didn't understand for three weeks._

"Heheh..." Telly smiled through his tears, "Thank you guys..."

"Yeah. Don't worry about it." Aya said, "I feel left out sometimes too, and I have the same creator as these four!"

"I think everyone feels left out sometimes." Leah agreed, "Well, I'm going to sleep now. Care to join me, Chibi?"

 _After you, Milady._ he replied, bowing like a gentleman.

She giggled, hovering to the wall and going dormant.

"I think I'll get to sleep soon too..." EVE replied, "We need to find those things tomorrow..."

 _We will._ Giga said confidently, _They were very common back in the day. We're bound to find them sooner or later._

"I hope you're right." Rio said before folding up, "I hope we find them _sooner."_

"Same..." EVE gave WALL-E a quick kiss, "Goodnight..."

"Goooodniiiight..." he sighed.

EVE giggled before going dormant.

She supposed that today was a good day.


	20. Chapter 19

_Good morning..._ Chibi stretched his arms above his head.

"Hey, Chibi-Robo!" Telly chirped, "Guess what me and Rose found!?"

 _Haha! What did you find?_

"We got some _salt!"_

Rose lifted the jar, filled with brittle white grains, "Telly told me all about how salt comes from the ocean. I missed hearing his voice..."

"Aw! You're sweet, Rosie!" Telly giggled.

Whoa. Telly had never _giggled_ before.

"Huh? What's that look for, Chibi-Robo?" Telly asked defiantly.

 _What? Oh, nothing. I'm just relieved to see you so happy._

"Really? Well, thank you, I suppose."

 _No problem._

"Okay..." EVE counted heads, "Where's M-O?"

"I saw him leave with Wall-E." Leah told her, "They apparently wanted to talk."

"Is that so?" Rio said skeptically, "Those two have an odd way of communicating..."

"Well, M-O can't talk, and Wall-E can't speak in code." EVE said, "They need a special way to communicate."

"It's such a fascinating thing to watch." Ruby admitted, "Like they're speaking a secret language! Have you guys ever heard of Morse Code!?"

"Is that another army thing?" EVE asked, flat-lidded.

"They _used_ it in the army..."

"I'll admit, my Morse is a little rusty..." Rio said.

Ruby's voice changed, "-.-. .- -. / -.- - ..- / ..- -. -.. . .-. ... - .- -. -.. / - ... .. ... ..-.."

Rio responded, "-.- . ... -..- / .. / -.-. .- -. .-.-.-"

"Oo. What did you say?" Aya asked.

"Nothing important." Ruby replied, "Anyway, I found something interesting while I was out."

"Hm? What did you find?" EVE asked.

"I found a camera." she said, "I flipped it off and then shot it."

"Ruby!" Aya exclaimed in horror.

"It was Forthright's camera!" Ruby defended, crossing her arms, "It had her syndicate logo on it!"

"Syndicate logo?" EVE said to her, "What's that?"

"Here, I'll show you." Ruby pried open her heart chamber, pointing to the inside of the little door, "Look."

EVE's eyes widened, "Whoa."

There was an imprint there. While the EVEs from the Axiom had simple coding on theirs, Ruby's bared a logo. It showed off the cursive letters, _BnL_ , with swishing feathered wings on either side of it. It was also all black and red.

"What?" EVE delicately took the door with her fingers, "This...is Forthright's branding?"

Ruby shied away, "I hate it. It means I belong to her. But this is what all of Forthright's machines have on them."

"So that's how you recognized the camera." EVE concluded.

"Yeah..." Ruby self-consciously closed her heart opening, "I don't want to bear this logo. I want to be free like you guys."

"You _are_ free." EVE told her, "You chose to leave her, didn't you?"

Ruby shook her head, "No, I did leave, and that was my choice, but I still have this...this _branding_ on me. I don't feel free."

"Is that your fear?" Leah asked gently.

Ruby huffed rather annoyedly, "Yes. Being controlled is the one thing I fear. It's why I took comfort in sadism. I wanted to believe it was my choice. I wanted to reassure myself that this was my decision. So when Forthright forced me to hurt you guys, I told myself that it was my own doing."

"You were just afraid, huh?"

"You could say that. I had courage, I was brave, but I was also afraid." Ruby rubbed her arm absently, "Rio, I've been wanting to tell you this for awhile now, but...I killed Autopilot."

"WHAT!?"

"It wasn't my choice, but I believed it was. That's why I kept it from you."

"So wait, it was _your_ cannon that ended the life of my Autopilot!?"

"It was my weapon that dealt the blow, yes." Ruby turned her head, "Are you mad at me?"

"I was about to be, but now I think I get what's going on." Rio explained, "Being controlled, you killed my Autopilot and believed it was your choice. So you carried that guilt until now?"

"Well, not exactly." Ruby began to explain, "I carried that guilt from the time I named myself 'Ruby' until I heard Giga-Robo's story. _He_ certainly didn't have a choice, but he still believed that if he had done something different, the family wouldn't have been at death's door."

 _That is correct._ Giga said solemnly, _They didn't quite get that bad, they had friends and neighbors help them out, but I didn't have the bravery necessary to kill myself._

"And that is a valid fear." Ruby told him, "As much as you might think otherwise, it hurt them to see you go. Maybe even as much as being there for them did. Plus the whole mental barrier and trauma it could've brought." she explained with a kind of spark in her eye, "I'm the same way. I thought I had a choice, but I didn't, so I carried the guilt of Auto's death. I thought I felt pleasure in hurting others. I believed it, because I didn't want to believe I wasn't in control of my own actions." she paused to stare at her hands, "Wall-E was the one who woke me up."

"I see..." EVE said simply.

"Anyway, I think Forthright might be catching on, so we should hurry."

"Oh! Right!" EVE rose her voice, "Everyone! Move out! Look for the things we need! _Go!"_

Everyone split up and searched wildly. They only had three ingredients left to find; more ammonia, vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide. Everything else was collected, but if Forthright was really catching on, they would have to find them _fast._

EVE sifted through another box, and another, and another. She moved on to cabinets, drawers, under sinks, on top of old appliances. Anywhere she would think to put household cleaning products. Finally, after the fourth apartment, she got her hands on some hydrogen peroxide. The label said, "CAUTION: HANDLE WITH CARE".

She heard something adjusting.

On pure instinct, she turned and shot. The camera exploded.

EVE sighed, _Great..._ she lifted the bottle of fluid and flew to the next apartment, sifting through more boxes.

"What did everyone find?" she asked upon regrouping.

"I got a little more ammonia, but Giga still says it isn't enough." Aya replied with a pouty frown.

"I found some hydrogen peroxide." EVE said, "We can't risk Forthright getting to all this dangerous stuff. Chibi? Is your head compartment big enough to hold all of this?"

 _Yes._ Chibi replied swiftly, _It's a wormhole. It can hold anything._

EVE felt herself gag, "I'm not even going to _begin_ to think about how that works. Will these things be safe in there?"

 _Absolutely._

"Then here ya go. Stuff these in your head." EVE gathered what they'd collected and placed them in front of Chibi, "I found another Forthright camera. I think they're everywhere. She saw me pick up the hydrogen peroxide."

"Seriously!?" Rio exclaimed incredulously, "She's going to figure out what we're up to!"

"Hush!" Leah shushed.

EVE narrowed her eyes in annoyance, "Whatever. Just look, and look _everywhere!"_

* * *

WALL-E treaded alongside M-O. He couldn't make out any color besides his friend's eyes, but that seemed to be all the variation they needed. He didn't need any color besides his family.

"Wall-E?" M-O asked.

"M-O." WALL-E gave him his attention.

M-O scrubbed the ground for a second, then shrugged, pulling a face.

"No." he went back to searching.

"Wall-E!" M-O jumped in frustration.

"M-O." WALL-E turned back, a little annoyed.

"Mooooorrre!"

WALL-E sighed, "Whoooo arrrre."

"Ugh!" he knew that, "Haaaate!"

"Don't." WALL-E put his hand out. M-O was about to shake it, but he had to clean it first. He didn't want any dirt on him.

"Ooodd?" M-O asked.

"No. Yooou aaarrre."

"Arrre wrrrrong!" M-O shook his head, "Caaan't..."

"M-O..." WALL-E tried to say.

"No! Wrong! Aaaaall wrong!" M-O exclaimed, "Caaan't stooooop!"

WALL-E shook his head, "M-O-!"

"Me! Cleeeean! Yooooooou noooooooooooooot!" he stretched those last syllables.

"M-O!"

"Cannnnooooooooot!"

 _"M-O!"_

He stopped.

WALL-E made sure to annunciate, tapping M-O's head on each word with his freshly cleaned hand, "You. Are. You." he said, "Me. Are. Me." then he went back to searching.

M-O thought about that, then he beamed. What a meaningful conversation.

* * *

"More ammonia!" Rio.

"I got the vinegar!" Aya.

"Yes! What luck!" EVE straightened out, "Okay! Chibi, put that stuff in your head! Giga, will this stuff do?"

 _Oh yeah. We have plenty now._ Giga replied, _More than enough for what we need it for._

"We can go home now!" EVE squealed.

"Hooome!?" WALL-E asked excitedly.

"Yes! Home!" EVE swept him up and cuddled him like a stuffed teddy bear.

 _Awesome!_ M-O lifted his brush, _Clean ahoy!_

"Whew...this has been exhausting..." EVE gently set WALL-E down again, "Let's go home."

"Yay!" Aya exclaimed.

 _This is a lot of stuff._ Chibi commented, pocketing the last thing.


	21. Chapter 20

_"Hmmm...what a peculiar thing..."_

 _"Let me go! What do you want!?"_

 _"Just forfeit everything...your life, your soul, your heart...and I will give you the gift of relief..."_

 _"Stop! Let me go! IT HURTS!"_

 _Forthright went through all the old memories in her head again and again. Is this what she wanted?_

 _Is this what she was going to get?_

* * *

Ah. Nothing like a relaxing day at the Axiom with your family. They had heard of a spa, but were mostly unfamiliar. That is, until they felt the warm water.

"It's sooo soothing..." EVE sank lower, letting the water fill her neck.

"I love this..." Ruby went all the way under.

"Look at all the bubbles!" Aya giggled, "This one is pink and blue! And this one is _yellow_ and blue!"

"Shut up..." Rio mumbled.

"Evah?" WALL-E peeked over the rim of the pool of steaming water.

"You want in too?" EVE took her arm out of the water to stroke his cheek, "

I don't know...you're already so rusty..."

"Come on, Eve!" Aya teased, "You know you want him to join us!"

"Stop being so creepy!" EVE shifted, "Oh! Come here, you!" she dragged WALL-E underwater and he yelped.

EVE laughed as WALL-E resurfaced, growling, "Haha! Sorry. Couldn't resist."

He immediately slid further into the water, "Ahhhh~"

"He's so cute!" Aya grinned goofily.

EVE sighed as WALL-E nuzzled his head under hers, "We have to get out..."

"And we have to fight Forthright..." Rio continued.

"And we have to destroy her before she does it to us first..." Aya added.

"And get everyone back to town..." Leah finished.

Everyone took a simulated breath and let it out slowly.

"Ugh. I'm gonna fall asleep." EVE poured the hot water from her neck, "I have to get out."

"Me too." Rio shook her head as she rose, "Let's wrap this up."

"We just got heeere..." Rose complained.

"No..." Leah retorted, "We've been here for almost three hours..." she sank further down, "We need to leave soooon..."

"We're coming back as soon as Forthright is gone." Rio promised, "Now come on you guys."

Rose's voice reverberated through the water, _"Five more minutes..."_

"Sorry, Rose." Leah sank until her eyes were at the surface, "We really should get going..."

 _"Ugghhh..."_

"We'll come back..." EVE insisted, but made no move to leave.

"Evah?" WALL-E whispered.

EVE moved her hand to WALL-E's back, gently rubbing it, "I don't wanna leave..."

WALL-E sighed in contentment.

"Eve. We have to go." Rio told her.

"I know. You're right." EVE slowly carried WALL-E and herself out of the spa onto the hard floor, "It's too cold out here."

"Agreed, but Forthright won't wait." Rio tugged on Leah's arm, "Come on. We're coming back once this is all over."

"Yeah yeah...I'm coming..." Leah told her, "Go on without me...I'll catch up..."

"Fine. Be that way. Let's go, Eve."

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Everyone screamed as Ruby jumped out of the water and scared them.

"Ruby!" Aya exclaimed angrily.

"AHAHAHAAA! I got you guys so good!" Ruby laughed histarically.

"You scared me to death!" Rose huffed.

"Not cool, Ruby!" Leah added.

"Haha!" Rio chuckled, "That was good!"

"Were you in on this!?"

"No, but I wish I was!" Rio high-fived Ruby.

"That was pretty good." EVE admitted.

"Evaaah!"

"Calm down, Baby." EVE lightly scratched his cheek with her thumb, "Well, that certainly woke me up. Let's get going."

EVE made extra sure WALL-E was dry before they set off for the science lab. It hadn't been used since the EVE Probes were built, and so it was pretty neglected.

"Are these cobwebs?" Aya broke them with her hands.

"I guess..." EVE smiled, "Maybe nature is trying to take all this back."

"Yeah. You keep telling yourself that." Ruby eyed the webs, disgusted.

"Alright..." EVE cleared a space on the dusty countertop, "Where's Chibi?"

"Right here." Leah set him down on the cold surface, "Do your thing, Sweetie!"

Chibi nodded, removing all the ingredients from his head while EVE was squeezing her eyes shut and whispering, _"Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it..."_ over and over. When he was finished, EVE stretched out her fingers.

"Alright, here we go..." she turned to Giga-Robo, "How does it work?"

 _First, mix the salt and the vinegar, then very carefully add the acid. Make sure you put all this into an acid-proof container, or we'll never be able to finish._

EVE sifted through all the test tubes in the lab, "Like what? How industrial are we talking?"

 _Get the strongest container on the Axiom. It must be_ strong.

"Okay..." EVE grabbed a graduated cylinder after scanning it, "This is it. It's made of fine-tuned rubber and sealed with silicon glue."

 _That should be enough. Get two of those._

"So, mix the salt and vinegar first?"

 _Yeah._

"Then...add the Citracid?"

 _Is that what you're calling it now?_

"Eh...Aya came up with it, not me."

 _Yeah. Add it SLOWLY._

EVE took that seriously, adding a drop per second, "How much?"

 _Until it starts to foam._

One...two...three... EVE unconsciously counted each and every drop, watching them fall into the cylinder, seven...eight...nine... everyone else watched anxiously, waiting for some kind of reaction. Finally, the mixture began to foam and EVE stopped, "Is this good?"

 _Yes. Perfect. Now in a different container, mix the hygrogen peroxide and ammonia, but make sure there's much more ammonia than hygrogen peroxide._

 _Do we really need this?_ Chibi asked, _Dad didn't have to add those two._

 _I know, but they act as buffs. They make the acid much stronger._

"I guess that makes sense..." Aya said.

EVE swirled the new liquid in the second cylinder, "Does this look right?"

 _Yes. Now mix that with the foam, and be gentle with it. Don't let it overflow._

EVE added drop after drop, a little faster this time, one, two, three, four... EVE tapped the side of the glass, placing it to the side, "Is this it?"

 _Yeah. It'll mix on its own from here, so we're done. Keep the water in a separate container until we're ready to use it, or it'll explode immediately and we won't be able to use it in the Index._

"It looks weird..." Rio remarked, "I've never seen anything like it before..."

"Me neither. What kind of color is that anyway, brain juice?" Aya asked.

"It looks like brown, but also green and orange..." Ruby shook her head, "So once we mix this with water, it'll melt through all the casing around Forthright's computer?"

 _If it doesn't, I will be_ very _surprised._ Giga replied, _We should leave as soon as possible. That acid isn't very stable._

"Yeah, it's still bubbling. Let's hurry then." EVE turned to Leah, "You should carry the water. We don't need much, just a drop, right?"

 _I would take a few tablespoons, just to be safe._ Giga said.

"Okay, I can do that." Leah left just then, returning with a vial of water, "Here we go."

"Right." EVE lead the way, "Let's head out then."


	22. Chapter 21

The group traveled in high-spirits, but when they arrived, the atmosphere crashed and burned. No one was excited. This was likely going to be a fight to the death.

"Okay..." Ruby readied her modified weapon, "Let's do this..."

EVE held WALL-E's hand to calm her nerves while Leah cradled Chibi affectionately and Rose cupped her hand around Telly's shaking form. Regardless though, they were ready.

The elevator dropped them off and the tension thickened. There were monitors lining every wall, each flickering like in a horror film. They displayed messages as the group passed;

 _YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE. TURN BACK. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE. DIE DIE DIE DIEDIEDIE._

"Um, Eve..." Leah whimpered, "I'm getting really bad vibes from all of this..."

"Maybe we should turn back..." Rose agreed.

"No. If we turn back, then we'll still be in danger. Forthright will still be a threat." EVE kept going, "We might as well _try_ to stop her."

Giga huddled close to a shivering WALL-E and M-O, _I don't like this either...those screens are getting more and more threatening..._

"Screens don't scare me." EVE replied, "They're just empty threats."

"But we know what Forthright is capable of..." Rio replied, "We should at least take notice."

EVE halted in her tracks, forcing everyone else to come to an abrupt stop. The door was right in front of them.

She sighed, turning to look at the others with unwavering determination, "I am not going to step down." she told them, "Even if Forthright has an army, we have each other. We have love and guidance. We keep going even when the going gets tough. I'm scared too, but should fear control us?"

"Absolutely not!" Ruby retorted.

"You see? Forthright is strong, but so are we." EVE turned her head to the door, "I'm going no matter what. Do you want to come?"

No one objected.

"Good. I have faith in us." EVE continued, "And I believe faith is illogical. But I do believe. So, let's do it, because we can."

She let her processor relax as the others seemed to agree. She held the acid tightly in her hand, "Here goes nothing..." she let go of WALL-E so she could twist the doorknob. One last message appeared on all the screens;

 _SO BE IT..._ the door opened.

EVE sensed an explosive, so she hurried to it and threw it. It exploded in the air.

"Did you really think this was going to be easy?" Forthright sneered.

"No, but I knew it was right!" EVE shot a discharge into the air, "GO! NOW!"

Everyone filed in and created chaos. Leah hovered to EVE, "What now?"

"Follow my lead." EVE swerved around more explosives and Leah followed suit.

"Eve, darling." Forthright's voice sneered, "How could you leave me like this?"

EVE was confused. Though they heard the voice of their enemy, she was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm done being your slave!" Ruby spat, "Come out here and let me kill you, coward!"

"Is that any way to talk to your mother?"

"Shut up, you Hitch!" Ruby growled, "I'm going to splatter you across the walls!"

"Rose! Look out!" Aya pushed her out of the way of an onslaught of bullets.

"Thank you!" Rose gasped.

"Okay." EVE turned to Leah, "Go!"

She was about to pour the foaming liquid when it was suddenly knocked out of her hands, "No!" it sizzled on the ground, mixing with Leah's water and causing a bright flash-bang effect. It melted the ground and faded away.

All that work to create the destructive substance...and it didn't even fulfill its intended purpose...

"Well, that was a nice game of cat and mouse." Forthright jeered, finally showing her face, "Don't'cha think?"

"I'm gonna kill you!" Ruby struggled against the army of monster-bots that was restraining her.

"Tsk tsk, my dear Eve. Didn't you remember that you are mine?"

"I am not! I'm my own person! No one can tell me what to do!"

"You are sooo naive..." Forthright rose her voice, "Take them to the chamber!"

"No!" Ruby's anger was replaced with blood-chilling terror, "Not that! _Anything but that!"_

"Sorry, Eve..." Forthright grinned in a way that gave them the chills, "But **you're grounded...** "

Ruby kept screaming as they were being dragged away, "Stop this! You can do whatever you want with me, but _don't hurt my family! They are everything to me! PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS!"_

All of her pleas fell on deaf ears as the door shut behind them, clicking the lock into place. Forthright glanced down at the hole made by the acid.

"Ugh...I'm gonna have to get that fixed..."

* * *

Ruby broke down in anger, "That little son of a meat grinder I'm gonna kill her so much she'll just be a pile of dust on the..."

EVE sighed, just wishing for some peace and quiet. She didn't even know what happened to WALL-E. He was taken away to another room, and she put up quite a fight because of it. Her arm was dented from the struggle.

"I wish Autopilot was here..." Rio closed her eyes, "...please send help..."

"Wall-E..." EVE mumbled, glancing at Rose and Leah. All of them were in separate cages with magnetized locks, so even Ruby couldn't open them.

"Where's Chibi gone!?" Leah cried, "Where's Telly and Giga!?"

EVE had a very foreboding feeling about all of this. What exactly was Forthright planning?

"Hello, my darlings!"

 **"I'LL KILL YOU!"**

"Calm down, sweetie. I just got here." Forthright straightened out, this time wearing denim short shorts and a black sweater, decorated to look like a suit and tie. She had a particular taste for black, EVE noticed, "I just wanted to have a little fun before I left for your precious Axiom."

The kind humans EVE knew flashed in front of her mind - Mary, John, McCrea - and she grabbed the bars of her cage, "You leave them out of this!"

"Oo! Feisty, aren't we?" she laughed, "Calm down. My goal is almost complete. All I have to do is enforce my dominance, and all will be right again."

"No. You can't do that! _I won't let you!"_ EVE screamed.

"Excuse me?" she lifted a steel cage and set it on a table in the room.

EVE's voice hitched, "M-O!"

He was on his side, yellow acid smearing his face and body. He was barely holding on, just managing to utter, _H-help..._

"M-O!" EVE slammed her shoulder into the steel cage, "Let him go! Give him back!"

"Oh, honey...you think _this_ is bad?" Forthright grinned, **"This is nothing."**

EVE suddenly heard a low constant beeping sound, and her stomach dropped. She knew that sound anywhere. Sure enough, he came into view. WALL-E, tattered and torn, bolted to a metal crane and wrapped in tight cords. Scratched marks covered him from eye to tread, and one of his eyes was missing from his head. His one eye met EVE's, "Eevvv..."

"WALL-E!" EVE shook the cage even more, "Let him go! LET HIM GO!"

"Eve!" Rio cried.

"This is perfect..." Forthright gestured for the machine to bring him lower, "Let's make a small...adjustment..." she took a scalpel from her pocket and removed the cover, sliding one edge of the blade over WALL-E's solar charge display.

"STOP! STOP STOP STOP STOOOOP!" EVE threw a fit as Forthright cut into the warning beep, cracking the display and causing WALL-E to cry out in pain.

"NOOO MOOORE!" WALL-E wailed.

"No more!? YOU MEAN YOU'VE ALREADY DONE THIS!?" EVE's voice chip was hoarse, and her sides were sore from slamming into solid steel, but she didn't care. Her logical side was offline.

"Waaall-Eee..." M-O whimpered, crying.

"EEEVAAAH!" WALL-E's voice was raw from screaming, "HEEELP!"

"No more...no more...no more..." EVE caved in on herself, wishing with every inch of her being that this nightmare would end.


	23. Chapter 22

Forthright stopped cutting, running her fingers along the sickly yellow fluid stuck to the knife, "Beautiful. Now Eve, I'll only say this once." she addressed EVE #1 when she said this, "If you degrade yourself enough, I'll stop hurting your precious boyfriend. Oh wait, I meant husband."

"Fine, fine, anything you want, just stop this..."

Forthright sheathed her scalpel, "Well then, call yourself an idiot."

EVE hid her eyes from view, "I'm an idiot..."

"Now a moron."

"I'm a moron..."

"Describe to me how stupid you are."

EVE felt her pride being crushed underneath her own weight, "I...I am a disgrace...I am a pathetic waste of space...I can't do anything right, and I can't be relied on for anything because I am so stupid..."

"I like this." Forthright smiled sickeningly, "Keep going."

"I'm worthless, just a wretched pile of toxic waste...no one will miss me...I'll live doing pointless things, and then I'll die...leaving behind nothing but a pile of metal and a poor excuse for fake life..."

"Eeevah..."

"I don't deserve love...I don't deserve friendship...I don't deserve any kind of decency..." EVE's voice chip began to fail her, and she looked at WALL-E for comfort, "...I deserve to die alone...with no one to remember me...that's how worthless I am..."

Forthright laughed like a mad scientist, "Yes! This is what I live for!"

"Now will you let them go?"

"Sure, sure..." Forthright cut WALL-E's bindings and he fell with a sickening _thud!_ Then she opened M-O's cage and dumped him onto the floor.

"Hey!" EVE tried to scream at her some more, but she was already gone.

EVE stretched her arm between the bars of her cage, but she couldn't reach the boys. WALL-E had some strength in his arms, so he scooped up the completely helpless M-O and dragged himself along the floor until EVE could reach him. She pulled them closer.

"Why would she do this to you?" EVE couldn't get them into her cage, but she did scan them. WALL-E had already been cut across his arms and the grooves in his body where his arms swiveled around. His display was broken, his remaining eye was barely still operational, his wheels were either broken or missing, and he even had scarring around his body in random places, some of which had even scratched rust and paint off. And M-O...

M-O had one injury, but it was a fatal one. His battery had been split open, pouring the acid all over his casing and circuitry. It almost seemed like WALL-E was trying to protect M-O from getting hurt and got all those horrific scratches from it.

"Help..." EVE squeezed her eyes shut, "Please send help..."

 _Click!_

EVE snapped her head up. She was still, then she pushed on her cage. It opened right up.

"Wall-E!" EVE flew out and tried to grab him.

He pushed her away, "No...M-O..."

"You need help too!" EVE noticed her sisters gathering around. Their locks had released too.

"M-Ooo!" WALL-E insisted, pushing him closer. M-O was having a hard time staying awake.

EVE gently picked him up, "Leah?"

"Right." she opened the repair kit and spread the contents on the ground.

They each set to work. EVE pried open M-O's casing and mopped up some of the acid. The wound in his battery was deep and gashing. It was almost too much to look at. She took the jug of battery acid from the kit and carefully poured it into the open wound, making sure it didn't spill on M-O's internal data. She then sprayed the solidifier to close the wound and cleaned up the rest of the spilled acid, sealing up the casing again.

She turned M-O so he was facing her, "How do you feel, M-O?"

He blinked, _I feel dead..._

 _I'm so sorry..._ EVE set him on his wheel, but didn't let go of him, _Can you stand?_

 _I-I think...be prepared in case I can't._

EVE slowly let go and watched M-O wobble, "Wwwhoooaaa..."

 _You okay?_

 _I'm fine._ M-O shook off his disorientation, _Where's WALL-E!?_

"Right here." Leah had patched him up as best she could, but everything that was broken would have to be replaced, and they didn't have the parts with them, "He's no longer at death's door, but he's still very weak. We need to get him his replacement parts."

"I know..." EVE brought WALL-E's head up so he was looking at her, "Are you okay?"

"Eeeev..." he moaned.

"Wall-E? Baby?" EVE didn't like how he looked with one eye missing, "Can you talk to me?"

WALL-E's head lolled to the side, seeing M-O with concern in his yellow LEDs. He turned back to face EVE, "Eyyyeeeee..."

"Huh?"

"Eve, why don't you scan him?" Leah said fearfully.

"What?" she did, "Oh no..."

WALL-E was going blind.

"Eyyyeee!" WALL-E panicked, his one eye barely hanging on by a thread, "Evah!"

"I'm right here!" she grabbed his head, "I'm right here."

He smiled upon hearing her voice, but then his eye broke and fell off. He started panicking again.

"Wall-E!" EVE held him still, "Wall-E. It's okay. You can still hear me." she discarded the useless eye. He was now eyeless, and the sight was unsettling, "You can still feel me." she spread out her fingers in his open palm, "Remember?"

His fingers closed around hers, "Rrrreeemeeeeemmmbeeerrr..."

"Shhh..." EVE stroked his head with her other hand, "I'm still here..."

His free hand traveled up to her side, and she giggled involuntarily, "Hehehey! You know I'm ticklish there!"

He chuckled softly.

"Why are you out of your cages!?"

EVE pointed her weapon at Forthright and tried to shoot, but it just shot pain into her arm.

"Already tried that, dipstick." Ruby said flatly.

"Ow!" EVE held her dented arm close to her body.

"Evah!"

"Ow..." EVE squeezed one eye shut, "Forthright..."

Before anyone could react, they were all shoved back into the cages and locked back up. EVE banged herself into the bars again, "LET US OUT!"

"Sorry, but you shouldn't have tried to kill me!" she laughed, "And now you've tried to escape! All before the real fun started."

"Evah!" WALL-E's arms flailed through the air before EVE caught them and held him still. His hands shook violently.

"Wall-E. I'm still right here." EVE insisted, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Oh, I beg to differ." Forthright argued, "In fact, I'm sure you'll be separated very _very_ soon..."

"I swear to Mother Nature, if you take him away from me I will _strangle you!"_

"Oh don't worry. You'll definatly stay with him. But...heheh, well, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, now would I?"

"I hate surprises! Especially yours!"

"Too bad!" she giggled, "Now be good little robots and stay right here, or I might have to do something...drastic..."

And with that, she was gone.

"What do we do now?" Rose whimpered.

EVE massaged her forehead, "I don't know..."

 _Eve?_

 _M-O..._ EVE looked at him sadly, _I don't know what to do..._

"Evah?"

"Shhh..." EVE squeezed his hand gently, "I'm not leaving you."

The cages suddenly clicked again.

"Okay, who keeps doing that!?" EVE demanded.

Chibi waved from the control panel, _Hello!_

EVE was baffled, "Chibi-Robo?"

"I snuck him here in my stasis chamber." Leah explained, "I got him in and then set him to walk between the bars."

"Oh, Leah..." EVE carried WALL-E in her arms, "You're a lifesaver."

Leah scratched the back of her head, "Thanks..." she took Chibi in her hands again, "We have to find Giga and Telly!"

"Right. Let's hurry."


	24. Chapter 23

_1,000,000,000 Moolah..._

 _All spent on electricity..._

 _It was all his fault..._

 _These thoughts haunted him as he fell into a peaceful sleep._

They found Giga rocking back and forth, whimpering to himself. He was covered in his fair share of cuts and scratches, with one continuous burn across his chest and face.

 _Giga!_ Chibi reached out to him as Leah hovered to eye-level with him, _What did she do to you!?_

 _So much money...so much money..._ Giga sobbed, _...sooo much money..._

"Giga..." Leah lifted his chin, "Hush. It's okay now."

 _No it's not...she...she did this to me..._ Giga moved his arms and legs so they could see his stomach, where his battery was. It was clearly filled with green battery acid, _This is my original battery...I never wanted to see it again...n-never..._

 _Giga._ Chibi said, _We'll replace your battery. Calm down. It'll be alright._

Giga averted his gaze, _I know...but...th-those memories are so painful..._

Chibi remembered. That was very traumatizing for him.

"Here..." Leah set Chibi down and got her repair kit out again, "I'll fix you up good as new!"

Giga didn't resist as Leah pushed him back against the wall and took the battery out. She opened it up and poured its contents on the floor, quickly replacing it with the energy-efficient acid from the Axiom, "There ya go..."

Giga blinked as the power came back through him, _Thank you..._

 _Where's Telly?_ Chibi asked.

 _I don't know. They didn't put us in the same room._

"I'll find him..." Rose's pink laser swept over the hallway. It picked up his signature and she tugged on the door, "Locked."

"I got this..." Ruby stuck her left pinky in the lock and twisted it around and around. It wasn't long before they heard it _Click!_

"Telly?" Rose stuck her head in.

 _"R-Rose?"_

She gasped softly, hurrying to him quickly, "Where are your rotor blades?"

"Sh-she c-cut them o-off..." Telly whimpered, "I c-can't move, I-I'm scared...please, help me..."

 _Telly! No!_ Chibi jumped to the table he was on with his Chibi-Copter, _Telly! Oh my gosh! OH MY GOSH!_

Rose scanned the room, finding the discarded helicopter blades and bringing them back to the table, "Can you fix him, Leah?"

"I-I'll try...he's so small though. How can I be precise?"

 _I can help!_ Chibi offered, _Please let me help!_

"Okay. Here." Leah held the rotor blades in place, holding a welding tool by Chibi, "See if you can reconnect the wires."

 _Got it._ Chibi took the end of the welder and held it close to the wires. There were only two of them, and the tool was being held steady, so it wasn't too hard to reconnect the wires. One thicker wire that was blue, and one thinner wire that was red.

Telly spun the blades experimentally, "Ow...ow...ow..."

"Sh, sh...stop..." Rose picked him up, "Don't do anything, okay? I'll carry you."

Telly smiled lovingly, "Thank you, My Love..."

Rose giggled softly.

"Is everyone here..." EVE counted heads, "Okay, we're good. Let's get out."

"But what about Forthright?" Ruby demanded.

"But what about the humans!? They don't have a captain!" EVE held WALL-E close to her, "Wall-E has gone blind, M-O could die if we don't get him help, Telly is crippled! No, we're going back to the Axiom."

"Of course, how selfish of me." Ruby saluted, "Lead the way."

EVE nodded and flew off with everyone following behind her. They reached the Axiom in record time by blowing open the wall and flying out that way, setting off an alarm behind them.

"Okay..." EVE helped connect the hurt robots to the repair ward, switching on machines and turning on diagnostics, "Everyone who isn't hurt, we need to get rid of Forthright."

"Kill her?" Ruby asked, raising her weapon.

"No, just make her leave. Kill her or not, I don't care at this point." EVE said matter-of-factly, "I'm going to stay here with them. You guys get Forthright out."

"What?" Leah said, "I can stay here with them. I don't like fighting anyway."

"I want to stay until Wall-E regains his vision." she insisted, "He's really scared. I don't want to leave him like that."

"Okay. I'll call for the replacements." Leah said, "Call me when you're ready to come with us."

"Right. I will." EVE held WALL-E's hands, "I'll be there soon."

* * *

Everyone hurried to the doors of the Axiom, already seeing the Index come into view. They had arrived very late, and so Forthright had already gotten through the first shield.

"We have to get inside." EVE said.

"I thought you wanted to get rid of her." Ruby said.

"Yes! This is how we'll do that!" EVE charged her laser, "She's inside a highly-protected battleship, we need to get inside to make her leave."

"Right. Okay."

"Anyway, let's go."

They hurried inside, ignoring all the incriminated messages on the walls. EVE burst through the computer room, setting WALL-E down and pointing her weapon in the room, "FORTHRIGHT!"

No one was in there.

EVE lowered her cannon in confusion, "Search the premises! Find her, _now!"_

Everyone scattered while EVE kept looking around the room. She saw the hole in the floor hadn't been fixed, like that would help at all.

Wait...

She did a quick double-take, "Leah! Come here!"

"Yes?"

"Can you access the floor plans?"

"Yeah, that's a piece of cake for me. Why?"

"Because I want to check something."

"Okay...?" she went over to the master control system in the corner and swiftly hacked into it. She opened up the floor plans, "Oh my gosh!?"

"What!?" EVE looked over her shoulder.

"Look, Eve!" she pointed, "We can still use this!"

"That's incredible!" EVE brought her weapon back out, examining the hole in the floor. It had seemed so small before, but now she could see it was just big enough for WALL-E to fit in if he boxed himself up, "Wall-E?"

"Huh?"

"I have a special mission for you." EVE tore her right arm off, still in it's cannon form, "Take this into that hole in the floor and destroy the computer. Can you do that?"

He winced, glancing from the hole to her and back again, "Daaarrrk..."

"I know it's dark, but that's why I'm giving you this." she held it out to him, showing the light patterns engraved along the side, "See? Those lights will help you navigate fine. There's no one else in there, we already checked."

WALL-E held his uncertainty a moment longer before his optics straightened and he took the weapon from her.

"Good. You know how to operate that, right? Just get in there and annihilate everything. The structure around the computer will shield you from anything outside, so just be careful with my arm. Come back out once that's done and we can go."

WALL-E stuck EVE's cannonized arm on his back before boxing up. EVE swept him up with her left arm, "I'm counting on you." then she placed him in the hole and watched him disappear underneath the flooring.

"INCOMING!" Ruby was slammed into the wall before everyone was encompassed in stasis beams. Ruby slid down, falling unconscious.

"RUBY!" EVE's left arm was pinned to her side.

"Where's Wall-E!?" Forthright came into view, a manic anger on her face, "Probe One! Where's your arm!?"

Leah gasped, "What did you do with your arm!?"

"What happened, Eve!?" Rio exclaimed.

EVE ignored them. So WALL-E hadn't been found yet. She'd have to stall for time.

"Eve..." Forthright knelt down in front of Ruby, tracing the dent in her head with her fingers, "I'm sorry..."

"No you're not!" Rio spat in disgust, "You meant for that to happen!"

Forthright frowned, "Yes and no. I didn't mean to hurt her this badly."

"What are you talking about!?" EVE screamed at her, "You've been nothing but unkind to her! She told us about what you did to her! What you put her through! You can't turn around and tell us you care about her!"

"But I do." Forthright argued gently, "She was my greatest weapon."

"Oh, _that's_ it!?" Aya struggled against her stasis beam, "You're disgusting! You're vile! You're the biggest piece of-!"

"Aya! Be quiet!" Leah hissed, "We're at her mercy and you're insulting her!?"

"No no, it's fine." Forthright said, gently cradling Ruby's head in her lap, "I was going to torture you anyway, that doesn't change things."

 _"Stay away from her!"_ EVE seethed.

Forthright glared at her, "No way. She's my greatest creation. I love her like a mother loves their disobedient child, and just like all bad kids, they need reinforcement."

 _"There's a difference between reinforcement and breaking them until they fall onto the ground and can't get back up!"_ EVE felt phantom pains where her arm once was, _"She's so ashamed to be part of your_ _ **brand!**_ _"_

Forthright smiled gently, "Heheh...my weapon is gaining awareness...that just won't do..."

EVE didn't like how that sounded, "What do you mean?"

"Hm...I'm going to erase her memory."

"What!? No!" Rio screamed.

"Take them away. I'll get back to them later."

"No! Ruby!" Aya kept struggling.

"Don't take her away!" Leah begged, _"Don't take her away!"_

EVE kept glancing at the hole WALL-E had disappeared into before her view was obscured by flashing diagnostics in her eyes.


	25. Chapter 24

They were in the same room as before, locked in cages and everything. Aya was banging her head on the far concrete wall while Rio sat in a corner, regretting every life choice she'd ever made. Rose and Leah were in the same cage, comforting each other.

"I can't believe that stank..." Rio mumbled.

"Ugh...not you too..." Aya massaged her forehead, "I'm going to lose a sister..."

"Eve, what happened to Wall-E?" Leah asked.

"I..." EVE sensed a camera in the room, "I can't say..."

Rio picked up on her tone and changed the subject, "Ugh...Ruby..."

"What happened to the other boys?"

"I don't know..." Leah made eye contact with EVE.

"Oh..." EVE had a feeling that they did know. She scratched one of the steel bars with her thumb, "Please be okay...please be okay..."

Forthright came through the door, "The deed is done."

Ruby came through the door, stiff and robotic. There wasn't a drop of emotion in her expression.

"Ruby..." Rio whimpered, "No..."

"Eve." Forthright touched the control panel, "Which one should I go for first?"

Ruby blinked, "Doesn't matter."

"Ruby." EVE said.

"Then let's go wiiith...you." Forthright unlocked one of the cages and grabbed Rose.

"No! Rose!" Leah tried to snatch her back, but Ruby's laser was thrust into her face as the cage shut again.

Rose tried to fly away, but ruby grabbed her and pinned her to the wall. Ruby slowly slid her hand under Rose's head, and her pink eyes rolled back.

 _"Rose!"_ everyone cried.

"Ah...s-stop..." Rose whimpered.

Ruby smiled just slightly, "Sensitive there, are you?"

"NO DON'T DO THAT!" EVE screamed as Ruby tore the casing under Rose's head, breaking the hovering mechanism and forcing her head to fall onto the floor, "ROSE!"

Ruby discarded her body and grabbed her head, looking right into her eyes, "Is this good enough for you?"

Rose didn't respond, but her eyes did widen in horror.

"Let her go!" EVE demanded.

"Or what? You'll yell at me some more?" Ruby sneered.

"This isn't your choice! That's your sister! Remember!?"

Ruby's eyelids flattened, "Shut up. How stupid do you think I am?"

No familiarity. Not even in the slightest.

Forthright burst into laughter, "Oh, this is too perfect! Oh my goodness I love this! Oh! Oh...okay...I've had enough. Take these five to the scrap pile."

"Sure thing, Boss. Oh, and uh, do you mind if I played with them just a little?"

"Of course not. Go crazy." Forthright grinned, "And look for the rest of their little cult, why don't you?"

Ruby opened the cages and shoved them all into line, dragging them down the hall.

"Ruby...please..." EVE begged, "Wake up..."

"Yeah yeah, beg some more." Ruby hit her over the head, "I won't hesitate to kill you if you try to run away."

"Ow..." EVE's diagnostics flashed red at her.

"Get going." Ruby hit her again, "I'll be back for your precious flower soon."

* * *

"Why are you doing this!?" Aya screamed as Ruby ground her into the wall, "Why don't you remember us!?"

"Remember you? We just met like five minutes ago!? Do I look like a bolting moron!?"

"That's not what I meant! Ow! _Ow!"_

"Ruby..." EVE whimpered, trying to hover upwards despite the overwhelming pain that came from doing so.

Ruby dropped Aya onto the scrap metal-laiden ground, "Why...do you keep calling me that!? I am not Ruby! My name is Eve, just like you!"

"Ruby..."

"Oh wait, better yet, why don't you call me Eve-L!? That fits me much better!"

"Stop! This isn't your choice! You can still break away! Take control! _Ack!"_

Ruby pushed her head down, "This is my choice. Don't try to tell me otherwise. _This is who I am! STOP TRYING TO SWAY ME!"_

EVE screamed in pain.

"Stop this!" Rio dragged herself across the ground, "We're your family! We can stop Forthright! Please!"

 **"SHUT UP!"** Ruby shot her, sending her across the room, **"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE WHAT I WILL DO TO YOU!"**

EVE saw the sickening burn across Rio's body. It would likely scar.

"Ruby..." EVE wracked her brain for something she could use, "I know about your syndicate logo."

Ruby's eyes widened, "What?"

"Your branding from Forthright..." EVE replied, hope in her eyes, "I know how sensitive you are about it. You hate it because it reminds you that you're a slave to her, right?"

Ruby's left hand went to her heart, "H-how do you know about that? I've never told anyone..."

"You told us." EVE replied. She reached out to take Ruby's hand, but she jumped away, "You showed it to us. It has the swirly letters BnL, right? And it has swishing feathered wings."

"Y-you..." Ruby's expression softened, "B-but...this is..."

"Ruby..." Rio dragged herself out of the garbage, "You always ignored the notion that you were being controlled because it's your biggest fear..."

"You thanked us for helping you..." Aya added, "Ugh...and you showed us how much you cared about us..."

"And Wall-E..." EVE said, "You don't remember him either though, huh?"

"No. I don't recognize that name at all." Ruby frowned, "Th-that's impossible...is this...not my choice...?"

"No, it isn't. But you can still take control!" EVE said to her, "We believe in you!"

"What?" Ruby began to cry, "N-no...I-I didn't want to be controlled..."

"Shhh..." EVE scooted closer to her, "Come here..."

"Don't touch me!" Ruby glared at EVE through her digital tears, "Leave me alone! Don't come any closer!"

EVE rested her head in the pile of scrap, "Sorry...you aren't touchy-feely, huh?"

"S-stop...p-please..."

"What's going on in here?" Forthright barged in, "Eve! What's going on!?"

"B-Boss..." Ruby looked between everyone, showing signs of panic, "H-how do they know about my syndicate?"

Forthright looked like she'd just been slapped, "What?"

 **"THEY BOLTING KNOW ABOUT MY SYNDICATE! WHY DO THEY KNOW ALL THESE THINGS ABOUT ME!?"**

"Eve..."

 **"IS WHAT THEY SAY TRUE!?"** Ruby screamed as loud as her voice chip would allow, **"IS THIS MY FAMILY THAT YOU'VE BEEN FORCING ME TO ABUSE!?"** Ruby grabbed Forthright by the collar and slammed her into the metal-sheet wall, **"WAS IT ALL YOU!?"**

Forthright didn't react, "What's happening?"

Ruby was surprised enough that she dropped her onto the ground.

"Wh-what...? M-my memory back-up is offline...? How...?"

EVE grinned, "It's all over, Forthright. All we have to do is kill you and you'll be gone for good."

"No...No!" Forthright stumbled back, "You-you killed my immortality!?"

"I sure did!" EVE chuckled, "What are you going to do, kill me?"

"Eve! Kill them, now!"

Ruby seemed to be in an internal conflict. Forthright, her creator who threatened to torture her of she didn't obey? Or these other EVEs, who she just met and didn't know anything about?

"It's okay, Ruby." EVE smiled, "We'll be fine."

Ruby glared at her, unsheathing her weapon and advancing on her.

EVE was taken aback, "Ruby!"

"Say goodbye, eggshell!"

EVE gasped, squeezing her eyes shut.

Ruby smiled evilly, "Joke's on you, huh?" she spun around and shot Forthright.

"What!?" she dodged easily, running away, _"I'll get you all for this!"_

Ruby held her stance a moment longer before letting her cannon drop, "Aw man. I thought I could catch her by surprise."

"Ruby!" EVE laughed in relief, "Oh man! I thought I was a goner!"

"Yeah...I'm sorry about that..." Ruby gently pulled EVE out of the muck, "We can fix this..."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad to have you back."

"Evah!"

"Wall-E?"

"Evah!" he sped over the garbage, Chibi riding on his shoulder with M-O, Telly, and Giga not far behind.

"You guys are okay!" EVE exclaimed happily.

"Who are these guys?" Ruby asked, slightly hostile.

"This is Wall-E!" EVE said, "He helped you break away from Forthright the first time."

"He..." Ruby cocked her head to the side, "Something about him...it nags at me..."

"Maybe you have background data that survived from the format." EVE let Wall-E pick her up and hold her gently, "Ruby, can you help get everyone out of here?"

"Of course..." Ruby smiled, "Actually, I love the name Ruby..."

"You would, huh?" EVE said as WALL-E reattached her arm, "You're the one who came up with it."


	26. Chapter 25

Ruby laughed, "You're really something, aren't you?"

WALL-E buzzed in delight, "Rooobee!"

"Wow. No wonder you're still a fuzz in my memory. You're such a nice robot!"

"Back off, he's my husband!" EVE teased.

"Of course of course of course!" Ruby dismissed her with a wave of her hand, "I take the liberty of calling him my coolest friend!"

"That works for me."

"Come on, you guys!" Aya called from the Axiom's spa, "The water feels great!"

"You sure you don't want in, Chibi?" Leah asked.

 _I'm fine. I don't want to rust. Besides, my design isn't airtight. It could hurt me._

 _Same here._ Giga replied, _Me even more so since I'm so much older than the rest of you._

"That's fair." Rose said.

"Don't worry! We're still gonna stick around!" Telly replied.

"I wish I remembered all of you..." Ruby said.

"Let me show you something..." EVE flipped a memory-reader in her hands and stuck it to her head.

 _"What?" EVE delicately took the door with her fingers, "This...is Forthright's branding?"_

 _Ruby shied away, "I hate it. It means I belong to her. But this is what all of Forthright's machines have on them."_

 _"So that's how you recognized the camera." EVE concluded._

 _"Yeah..." Ruby self-consciously closed her heart opening, "I don't want to bear this logo. I want to be free like you guys."_

 _"You_ are _free." EVE told her, "You chose to leave her, didn't you?"_

 _Ruby shook her head, "No, I did leave, and that was my choice, but I still have this...this_ branding _on me. I don't feel free."_

 _"Is that your fear?" Leah asked gently._

 _Ruby huffed rather annoyedly, "Yes. Being controlled is the one thing I fear. It's why I took comfort in sadism. I wanted to believe it was my choice. I wanted to reassure myself that this was my decision. So when Forthright forced me to hurt you guys, I told myself that it was my own doing."_

Ruby's eyes widened, "Is that what happened? Before?"

"Yes." EVE removed the device from her head.

"That does seem like how I would behave..." Ruby narrowed her eyes, "If this turns out to be a trick, I will be extremely impressed."

"Is that so?" EVE chuckled, "Well, this did happen. That's my memory."

"Huh..." Ruby replied simply.

"EEEEEEEEEEvvve!" Aya wined.

"I'm coming!" EVE rolled her eyes, "Let's go, Wall-E."

EVE forgot what stress once she was in the water again, "Ahhh..."

WALL-E leaned into her, "Ahhh..."

"I'm sooo happy to be back here..." Rio slid deeper into the water.

"What's that?" Ruby eyed the water, "Why's it so colorful?"

"That's special soap..." EVE mumbled, "...you should join us...you like it too..."

"Do I? Do you have a memory of that too?"

"Yes..."

"Hm..." Ruby swirled her hand in the water, "It's so warm..."

"Just get in already." Aya said.

"Fine! But not because you told me to!" Ruby sank into the water, "Whoooaaa..."

"This feels great..." Rose said.

"Yeah..." Leah agreed.

"And we can stay this time..." Rio said happily.

"I'm not getting out until sunset..." EVE massaged WALL-E's back, and he sighed in contentment.

"YOU GUYS!"

"Ugh..." EVE recognized the voice of Mary, "What now?"

"We want you to meet someone!"

EVE sat up, "What?"

"Oh my gosh!" Aya zoomed out of the spa, _"He's so cute!"_

"What are you talking about?" Rio said, annoyed. Her eyes widened, "Whoa..." she left the spa too.

"What are you guys looking at!?" EVE turned her head.

It was a baby.

"What?" EVE hovered out and joined her sisters around John and Mary. A little baby boy with red hair and green eyes. He also had wild freckles. He smiled up at them, laughing with all the innocence of an angel.

"Look at you!" Aya tickled him, "What's his name?"

"We've been calling him Ted." Mary explained, "We've named him Theodore."

"Wow..." EVE marveled.

"Evah!" WALL-E called, annoyed.

"Wall-E! You have to see this!" EVE grabbed her husband and brought him to meet Ted.

His optics readjusted, his eyebrows rising, "Ohhh..."

Ted's round fingers wrapped around WALL-E's metal arm, grasping with surprising strength.

EVE laughed, "He got you!"

WALL-E laughed, absolutely delighted by this new little human.

"I think he likes you!" Mary scratched under Ted's chin. He stuck WALL-E's rusty finger in his mouth, "Nooo! You don't want that in your mouth!"

WALL-E giggled, "Teeed!"

Mary smiled, "You wanna hold him?"

"Huh?"

"I think you'd do great!" Ruby poked him.

"Ah!" WALL-E jumped back from her.

"Here, hold out your arms." Mary carefully set Ted in WALL-E's shovel hands and adjusted his hold, "There ya go..."

"Whoooaaa..." WALL-E cocked his head to the side, looking pointedly at the infant he was holding. Ted suddenly sneezed, "Ah!" WALL-E shook his head, blinking with his little windshield wipers.

Mary laughed, "See? Careful not to drop him."

Ted cooed, slobbering all over WALL-E's cracked solar power display.

"He's so chubby!" Rio commented.

"That's just how babies are, I guess." John replied.

Ted was okay for awhile, but then he started crying. WALL-E jumped back, looking guilty.

"It's okay, Wall-E!" Mary took him back, "Babies cry all the time. You had nothing to do with it."

"Oh..." WALL-E still looked down.

"It's okay." EVE pat him on the back, brushing the slobber away, "Don't worry about it."

Mary carried Ted away, still screaming.

"Don't worry. You guys will see him again." John saluted them before leaving to catch up with his wife.

"He's sooo cute!" Aya gushed, "Did you guys feel how squishy he was!? He had dimples!"

"Yeah. He's pretty sweet." EVE replied, "What a nice kid."

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Aya exclaimed, "We have to announce the new captain!"

"What!? You've got it decided!?" EVE asked incredulously.

"Yeah! The vote was unanimous!" Aya squealed in excitement, "Come on! This way!"

* * *

"Hello, everyone!" Aya exclaimed in her happy-go-lucky announcer voice, "We've gathered all of you here to announce the new captain of the Axiom! And, to everyone who voted for Rio...why?"

"Hey! I would make a great captain!"

"Suuure you would...anyway! Please give a warm welcome to..." Aya's eyes scanned the audience before shouting, "Captain Eve!"

"WHAT!?" EVE exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"Yeah!" Aya displayed the results of the vote, "You were voted over seventy percent! Don't try and tell me that isn't spectacular!"

"B-but! I can't be a captain! I don't know how!"

"Eve, you're the best leader out of all of us." Leah told her, "You always seem to know how to keep a situation from getting out of hand."

"And you know how to keep your cool." Rio replied.

"Don't try and deny it, Eve." Aya said, "You're so bossy even Ruby obeys your command!"

"Obeys her command!?" Ruby seethed.

"Anyway! Won't you accept the position? These people need a leader, after all!"

EVE looked out at all the friendly faces, "I-I..."

"Evah..." WALL-E took her hand, placing the other over his chest, "Beeeleeeive!"

EVE sighed, surveying the crowd.

Aya showed off the Captain's coat and hat, "Well? Come on, Eve! The suspense is killing me!"

EVE didn't know if she could hold that position. What would the captain think? Would he approve?

She could already hear what his answer would've been;

 _"You? Be the captain of the Axiom after me? Of course!"_

EVE let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, "This ship needs a leader. I accept."

"Yay!" Aya dressed EVE in the captain's clothes while the crowd cheered. EVE adjusted the hat on her head, feeling where the coat wrapped around her body. It was a crazy feeling to have so much authority, almost like everyone knew you'd be perfect for the job. EVE narrowed her eyes, saluting.

They saluted her back.

 _"Captain! Captain! Captain!"_ they chanted.

EVE began to laugh, and the others joined her.

What a nice feeling.


End file.
